Prime Minister to stop in Kirkenes after visit to Murmansk
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will make a stop in the town of Kirkenes after having signed the Norwegian-Russian border delineation deal in Murmansk next week.
-Stoltenberg and Støre’s visit to Kirkenes shows the importance of regional perspectives in Norwegian-Russian relations, General Secretary of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat Rune Rafaelsen says to BarentsObserver.
The two government representatives will stop in Kirkenes after having signed the agreement on the delineation of the Barents Sea, due to take place in a ceremony in Murmansk next Wednesday. From the Russian side, President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend.
Read also: Norwegian-Russian border deal to be signed in Murmansk
When in Kirkenes, Stoltenberg and Støre are expected to meet with the Norwegian Barents Secretariat, as well as with representatives of northern Norwegian authorities and business.
Rune Rafaelsen says the speedy preparation of the agreement illustrates a major interest in the area both from the Norwegian and the Russian side. When Stoltenberg and Medvedev announced consensus on the disputed waters in late April this year, several minor details still remained to be agreed on.
Rafaelsen underlines that Murmansk is the right place for the signing of the agreement, a document which he believes will have historic importance for the Barents Cooperation.
Read also: Medvedev’s historical visit to Oslo
