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Norway will follow the leadership of the European Union (EU) and close its ports to Russian vessels, excluding fishing vessels, the Norwegian government said on Friday.
The northern country is not a member of the EU, but has adopted almost all of the European Union sanctions against Russia – often with slight delays – since the Kremlin launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Norway announced on Friday that it would implement the fifth set of sanctions, agreed to by the 27-member bloc three weeks ago, on April 7.
This includes banning, with some exceptions, the road transport of goods from Russia, by which Norway divides the Arctic border, through the Storsko crossing between the two countries.
The mooring ban on Norwegian ports of Russian-flagged vessels will take effect on May 7 and will not affect fishing vessels, many of which dump their prey off the Norwegian coast or in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
The Arctic archipelago is governed by a centuries-old treaty that allows all signatory states, including Russia, to participate equally in economic activities.
“Sanctions are our main means of pressure against the Russian regime,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Aniken Heitfeld.
“It’s key here to stay close to the EU and other countries, to continue to weaken Russia’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine,” she added.
Since 1976, under an agreement signed at the height of the Cold War, Norway and Russia have agreed on quotas to catch certain species of fish in the Barents Sea, which is home to valuable cod reserves.
Oslo said the exemption was made for fishing vessels, in line with EU sanctions.
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