Støre described Russia as ”not yet a stable, reliable, predictable state”
Before attending last week’s Arctic Summit Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told journalists and diplomats that is “not certain in what state they (Russia) will be.”
At last Monday’s meeting the five Arctic coastal states Russia, USA, Canada, Denmark / Greenland and Norway discussed special issues regarding the continental shelf in the high Arctic. Norway’s Foreign Minister said his country’s strategy is to build a trusting, cooperative relationship with Russia on Arctic issues.
But Støre’s words and description of Russia as a neighbor made headlines in Russian media. Newsru.com wrote an article focusing on Støre saying that “Russia is not quite normal.” Nezavisimaya Gazeta refers to Støre’s statement …”However, to maintain relations with Moscow is a complicated matter, because Russia is not quite normal state.”
Russian media is referring to articles in Canadian media, where Jonas Gahr Støre tells about Norway’s challenge of negotiating the Arctic’s future with Russia.
The Norwegian Foreign Minister told about Norway’s view on Russia to a group of journalists and diplomates at a hotel-room in Ottawa some few hours before the official Arctic Summit meeting started.
The Vancouver Sun quotes the Norwegian Foreign Minister describing Russia as “not yet a stable, reliable, predictable state.”
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Støre said Norway is working out its boundary disagreement in a potentially oil-rich part of the Barents Sea with a country that is still grappling with its transition from a totalitarian state to a democratic nation, adding it is “not certain in what state they will be”, The Vancouver Sun reports.
In the same interview Jonas Gahr Støre also credited Moscow with acting in a “civilized way” so far to work out undersea territorial claims.
