The ministry said the drones were "destroyed by fire from the standard armament of the Russian ship" prior to reaching the Ivan Khurs. Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Ukraine launched an "unsuccessful" attack on the Ivan Khurs with sea drones on Wednesday. The political debate should be more clear about the consequences of a potential ban against Russian vessels in Norwegian ports, argues Senior Researcher Andreas Østhagen at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI).The Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs that Ukraine said it had struck in the Black Sea appeared to return to the port of Sevastopol in Crimea on Friday, renewing speculation about whether an unmanned surface vessel was successful in reaching its target. “We need to talk about what resource management - and security policy challenges this may have in the longer run. We are moving into an area in which we should really think twice and not just blindly follow the EU’s sanctions. They neither cooperate with Russia about fisheries in the Barents Sea nor have the fisheries protection zone around Svalbard to consider”, he says. In the political field in Norway, representatives from the Liberals are clear that they want a ban against Russian vessels in Norwegian ports. The Red Party emphasizes that Norway must have its own punitive measures aimed at those responsible for the war, namely Putin and his circle of oligarchs, but that separate assessments must be made around the Russian fishing fleet: Just like the EU does, Norway also considers sanctions that will prevent Russian vessels from docking at Norwegian ports. "We think it is too passive to wait for the EU. Red wants to be stricter against the oligarchs. But if we are to automatically copy the EU's sanctions policy, the fishing fleet is a reason why we must make our own assessments and have a differentiated policy, says Marie Sneve Martinussen (R) to E24. In a political radio program at Norwegian broadcaster NRK, MP Ola Elvestuen (Liberals) recently said that Norway should strengthen sanctions against Russia. “We should support Ukraine with weapons and equipment however, we should also bolster sanctions as much as we can. The next step would be closing Norwegian ports for Russian vessels and Russian-owned vesels. Ukrainian port cities are victims of massive firing, and we cannot have Russian oligarchs sending their vessels to Norwegian ports.” Great Britain and Canada have done so already. The government will await the EU’s decisions. Norwegian Fisheries and Seafood Minister Bjørnar Skjæran said on the same radio program that the Ministry “is working hard with the issue of closing ports”. When asked why the government so far largely has protected the fish industry from the sanctions, he responds: He points out that both the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) as well as international agreements lay down regulations for what can be done. “We have a certain geography, and we know it. Protecting this cooperation is important for Norway." There is no way we can manage the rich fish stocks without the other country taking part in this management. Seniorforsker Andreas Østhagen ved Fridtjof Nansens Institutt. Andreas Østhagen, Senior Researcher at FNI (the Fridtjof Nansen Institute). Nevertheless, the dimensions related to the established fisheries cooperation with Russia as well as the long-term security policy challenges have been under-communicated, Østhagen of FNI argues. If the Liberals were to have their way, this could have consequences we cannot predict, he argues. The point is that it can lead to a series of repercussions which over time can jeopardize the cooperation about fish stock management.” “If Norwegian authorities were to deny Russian vessels access to Norwegian ports, that does not mean that fisheries cooperation with Russia were to come to a halt immediately. In the 1990s, the cod stocks in the Barents Sea were near collapse due to uncontrolled fisheries. Norway and Russia then formed a joint fisheries commission through which annual meetings in the fall were organized to decided quotas and regulations for the fisheries. Later, in the 2000s, the fish stock started growing again.
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