Konstantin Kosachev says that the treaty will be discussed by his committee on 17 March and that it subsequently will be handled in a State Duma plenary session on 25 March. The treaty will be ratified “if no unforeseen circumstances appear”, he maintains.
Acording to the State Duma website, the hearings on the treaty started on Monday this week.
Read also: Lavrov: Ratification in March
Commenting on the treaty in a round table conference this week, Russian negotiating leader Roman Kolodkin underlined that the deal is “fair for both parts” and that there are very good perspectives for cooperation with Norway with regard to oil and gas exploration in the area, Regnum reports.
Read also: Norway eager to explore oil in border areas
At the same time, he stressed that the treaty does not resolve the two countries’ disagreement with regard to the delimitation of the waters around the Svalbard archipelago. Norway maintains that the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 gives it the right to control the shelf around the archipelago, but Russia and other countries disputes this.
