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Norway and Russia agree on borderzone establishment

When Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg meet in Oslo on Monday, they will give their approval to the establishment of a borderzone between Norway and Russia.

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Norway and Russia have agreed on establishing a more open border between the east and the west, and this agreement will be presented in Oslo on Monday. This is in the joint interest of both countries, says Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to NRK.

The agreement open up for special borderzone passes and easy border crossing for 40.000 Russians and 9000 Norwegians, living within 30 kilometers distance from the 196 kilometers long Norwegian-Russian border. The Schengen-agreement opens up for such regulations in border areas. When this agreement is effectuated it will be among the first areas along the Schengen border where there is established a borderzone, according to Støre.

In order to be awarded a borderzone pass, the citizen must have a clean criminal record. Støre’s vision is that in time the border will not be open only for people living within 30 kilometers from the border, but all Norwegian and Russian citizens.

− We must have a vision that in time regulations along the Norwegian-Russian border is similar to the border regulations between the Nordic states, says Støre.