Norway cites EU sanctions for Russian mining town

Oslo cites EU sanctions in holding up supplies to a Svalbard mining town.

A Russian arctic mining operation in the Svalbard Islands is facing shortages after Norwegian authorities held up over 20 tons of supplies in the port of Storskog, citing EU sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian application for humanitarian exemption was rejected by the foreign ministry in Oslo on Tuesday.

The special permit application submitted by the Russian embassy and the mining company Arktikugol was rejected on June 15, according to Norwegian national broadcaster NRK on Tuesday.

Arktikugol runs the mining town of Barentsburg, which is mainly inhabited by Russian nationals. The archipelago, located about halfway between the Arctic circle and the north pole, has fewer than 3,000 residents and has been under Norwegian jurisdiction for about a century.

Even though its residents are Russians, Norwegian laws apply in Barentsburg, according to Siri R. Svendsen of the foreign ministry. She said that the cargo bound for the islands is subject to EU sanctions against Moscow.

Barentsburg relies on a single ship that carries goods every ten days from Troms to the islands. Russian supplies were brought by truck from Murmansk and loaded on the ferry. Norway has held up the supplies at the Storskog border crossing with Russia.

Arktikugol fears a humanitarian crisis in Barentsburg if the goods are not allowed through, according to a letter sent by the company to the Norwegian authorities last month. Russian consul general Sergey Gushchin told NRK that fruits, vegetables, flour, and dairy were running short, but described the situation as stable for now. Spare parts, medical, and technical equipment were also blocked on the border.

The governor of Svalbard, Lars Fause, told the national broadcaster that no one will suffer harm in any direction as long as Norway has full and complete control over the archipelago. He said that the government is in dialogue with Arktikugol.

Svalbard has previously been a point of diplomatic tension between Moscow and Oslo when Norway tightened entry requirements after the visit of a senior Russian official under EU sanctions on account of Ukraine. Russia protested that such behavior was in violation of the 1920 treaty that established Norwegian rule over the islands.