one more pic of the enemy of the mighty Norwegian navy.
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It is also so typically Russian to claim that there was never an agreement about the Spitsbergen area. Thats not the issue here Mr. Lavrov
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OK, the russians don't claim there was never an agreement, that's some oversimplification of the media. From what I've read it's like that.
in 1920 there was a treaty signed GB, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Norway, and some other countries, that regulated the legal status of Spitzbergen. Russia (or Soviet Union) signed this treaty as well in 1935. That treaty says that Norway has sovereign rights to spitzbergen, but also allows the parties to the treaty to fish in the waters of spitzbergen. So it's a limited sovereignty. Norway though actively uses it's right to limit all activity based on the need for ecological preservation. (keep in mind that the quarter of all fish from Barents Sea is from Spitzbergen waters!). In 1977 the Norwegians again passed a treaty which they were the only party to, and installed a 200mile nofishing zone around Spitzbergen, and all countries to the original 1920 treaty said it's basically not legitemate as Norway only had a 4mile zone around the arhipelago that they could put restrictions on to. Since the islands are closest to Russia, it's the russians that fish most in there. And it was very often the Norwegians arrested ships and made them dump it out. It's just this time one guy on a rusted out trawler said OK, and than said 'screw you', turned around and run back home. The Russian fleet didn't even lift a finger to protect him, even in russian economical zone, and only in natioanal waters did they send a ship to protect it.
So all 'Mr. Lavrov" is saying is that there is the 1920 Paris treaty recognized by all parties that are subject to it, and not the 1977 treaty that Norway had introduced by themselves. It's very common now for everyone who used to oppose the USSR to try to kick Russia below the belt on every account possible, because Russia is weak. The Baltics would gladly take Siberia as reparations, I'm sure Germany wouldn't mind retuning of Prussia, China wants a slice of Siberia as well, Japan wants the Kurils back, and since Russia and Moscow area in particular originate from scandinavia folk basically, I suppose the total break up of the country will do. what Russia is doing in this case, is it shuold be more firm and tell them to stuff it, or make a new treaty with its neighbors, not try to cause incidents only using NATO as a shield, because on its own they don't have what it takes to go against Russia. Napoleonian complex is common not only for people but for countries. Politics, but this whole thing is political, feel free to disagree.
If you have more info on Spitzbergen treaty, plase post.
To me it looks like this sort of thing happened every year many times, but usually the fisherman just gave up, except this time the guy just got away.
Apparently, he's now in a hospital having suffered a heart attack. Go figure.