“With today’s meeting we want to show that ordinary people in Murmansk also keep an eye on development of international relations and want to make its contribution to the strengthening of friendly relations with our neighbors,” said Elena Filatova, organizer of the meeting, to website 7x7.
The around ten participants in the demonstration – mostly Communist Party affiliates, gathered by the Lenin memorial with posters saying «Is Norway a free country or is USA making all decisions for you?” and “Sanctions are not single-sided. A close neighbor is better than a distant relative – we are closer than the US”.
The demonstrators protested against Norway’s decision to join the EU in new restrictive measures against Russia as a reaction to Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimea and Sevastopol and destabilization in eastern Ukraine. The measures include an extension of the list of persons and entities subject to freezing of financial assets and travel restrictions, ban on imports of goods from Crimea and Sevastopol, ban on import and export of weapons and defense equipment and an export ban on goods for offshore oil exploration and production.
“I believe that it is ordinary people – us, that will suffer“, Filatova said. “In the end they will soon just deny us from entering Norway.”
Journalist Dmitry Vystosky has been traveling to Norway for many years and believes that the events in Ukraine have led Russia and Norway into a dead end. He believes the good relationship between the two countries needs to be continued regardless of how the situation in Ukraine will develop.
“I’m afraid the problems that have broken out can erase all 20 years of cooperation”, said Vysotsky, who according to 7x7 was one of the ideologists behind the meeting.
A source in the Murmansk Regional Government says to website FlashNord that the demonstration was approved by regional authorities. “The Government believes it is important to support the federal “Anti-american” trend“ he said and added that this will not be the last meeting.
