Abstract

More than three decades in the making, the 2010 agreement between Norway and Russia on a bounadry in the Barents Sea establishes a boundary, continues cooperation in fisheries, and lays the framework for cooperation on petroleum deposits straddling the boundary. The importance of the boundary goes well beyond the Barents Sea, as it demonstrated the capability of Arctic countries to resolve issues in a peaceful manner on the basis of international law. The agreement settles the most important outstanding foreign policy issue between the two countries and opens up new opportunities for cooperation. The article gives a brief overview of the agreement, the its negotiation and its implications at various levels of governance.

Highlights

  • Its significance goes well beyond the Barents Sea, as it demonstrated the capability of Arctic countries to resolve issues in a peaceful manner on the basis of international law (Hoel, 2010)

  • The Norwegian Governments proposition to the Storting seeking the consent to enter into the agreement (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2010), states that the agreement builds on international law and the rules of international ocean law on marine boundary delimitation, in particular articles 74 and 83 of Law of the Sea Convention which concerns delimitation of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelves respectively, requiring states to aim for an equitable result in establishing marine boundaries

  • In recent years the Norwegian government has been busy concluding marine boundaries, and the agreement with Russia represents the apex of these achievements

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Summary

Introduction

With the developments in international ocean law during the 1970 ́s and the establishment of Exclusive Economic Zones by Norway in 1977 and the Soviet Union the following year, the talks came to include a boundary for the EEZ (water) and the continental shelf.

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