BarentsNews.com

On Tuesday noon, November 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin met for talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik during his official visit to Oslo. The two leaders discussed a large number of bilateral issues, in particular those relating to fisheries management and oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea.

Putin and Bondevik signed a joint declaration, having agreed to expand cooperation between the states. Norway’s PM characterized the negotiations as straightforward and direct.

Meanwhile, some of the most ticklish questions have not been answered. For example, the delicate problem of Barents Sea demarcation remained unresolved, as the leaders merely mentioned that the demarcation agreement should be concluded as soon as possible, not expanding any longer on the subject.

After meeting with a Norwegian industrial leaders’ delegation, President Putin was received by King Harald at the royal palace. Putin was accompanied by a number of government ministers and high-rank officials, the governor of Murmansk region Yuri Yevdokimov among them.

Yuri Yevdokimov gave a high appraisal of the Russian visit to Norway, saying the Oslo meetings had passed a powerful impulse to strengthening Russian-Norwegian bilateral ties. Yevdokimov stressed the importance of mutual understanding achieved above all in the spheres of increasing nuclear safety, oil and gas exploitation on the Arctic shelf and common management of the Barents Sea bio-resources.