In the Russian mining town of Barentsburg, the same laws apply as in the entire territory of Svalbard.
“Sanctions in effect: Norway did not let cargo for Russians into the territory of Svalbard” />
The Norwegian authorities have rejected permission for a Russian mining company to transport goods to the territory of Svalbard through the country's mainland. This is reported by the publication NRK.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, a specific application for a transportation permit was rejected on June 15.
20 tons of Russian goods were “stuck” at the Sturskug border station goods that were headed to the Russian mining town of Barentsburg on the territory of Svalbard.
The application was submitted by the Arctic Coal Trust mining company and the Russian Embassy sent a letter to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry asking for an exception to the sanctions. The Russians' letter states that they fear a humanitarian crisis if the goods are not passed through Sturskug. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway stated that the same laws apply in Barentsburg as in the entire territory of Svalbard.
Consul General of the Russian Federation Serhiy Gushchev said that the situation is stable and Russian diplomats are working on obtaining benefits for goods “for humanitarian reasons”.
Russian goods used to arrive on Svalbard from Murmansk to Tromsø by trucks through the only checkpoint “Sturskug” on the border of the Russian Federation and Norway.
The islands are delivered by a single cargo ship Bring, which leaves for the archipelago every 10 days. About 500 people live in Barentsburg, including miners who work in the coal mines of Russia's Arctic Coal.
Norway is not a member of the EU, but is part of the European Economic Area, and has also joined all six sanctions packages, introduced against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Let us remind you that a similar situation developed with Russian Kaliningrad. Since June 18, Vilnius restricted the transit to Kaliningrad of goods subject to EU sanctions. Among them are construction cargo, cement and metals.
The Kremlin called this decision illegal and responded with a series of exercises by the Baltic Fleet and land units, which trained twice a week to fire from Grad installations. and “Hurricane”.
The European Commission is ready to allow the transit of Russian goods to Kaliningrad, “transit” Lithuania is outraged.
