Zubkov to lead Svalbard commission
Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is appointed new Head of the Governmental Commission for Russian presence on Svalbard.
Zubkov takes over the post after another First Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, news agency RIA Novosti reports.
The appointment of Mr. Zubkov as Head of the commission can imply an enhanced Russian focus towards Svalbard. The Russian Federation Council concluded at a round table conference in April 2009 that the archipelago is of unquestionable strategic importance for Russia and gives the country great opportunities for presence in the Western parts of the Arctic.
Production of sea food, scientific research, tourism and petroleum exploration are among the field of activities that Russia want to develop on Svalbard.
- As long as Russia kept a high level of activity on Svalbard, out presence there was never questioned, said Gennady Oleynik, Head of the Federation Council’s Committee for the North and Indigenous Peoples at the conference. – Such questions were only raised when we cut back our activities at the same time as Norway enhanced its presence on the island, he added.
Read also: Russia should be more active on Svalbard
Murmansk Oblast Governor Dmitry Dmitriyenko and Arkhangelsk Oblast Governor Ilya Mikhailchuk are members of the Governmental Commission for Russian presence on Svalbard, together with several high ranking politicians and officials, the Government’s web page reads.
Norway has sovereignty over the Svalbard Archipelago in line with Paris Treaty of 1920. However, also the other signatory countries are entitled to engage in industrial activities in the area, but then only in accordance with Norwegian law.
About 500 Russians and Ukrainians now live and work in the settlement of Barentsburg. The Norwegian authorities on the islands are based in the nearby town of Longyearbyen.
