Alexander Stubb, famous in the Barents Region for branding the north as the world´s most sexy region, is put on track to take over after Jyrki Katainen.
Marina Kovtun, who yesterday resigned from post as Governor of Murmansk Oblast, has good chances of winning the elections in September, both analytics and politicians say.
Vladimir Putin has declined to return fire over this week’s new EU and US sanctions against his inner circle. He did warn that further action may result in retaliation, but some analysts, like Arild Moe with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, are saying this would hurt Russia more than the West.
Norway and Russia agree on continuing environmental discussions in spite of political and economic sanctions following the Crimean crisis. The two countries are also making the first preparations for joint oil extraction in the Barents Sea.
The European Union released a new sanctions list targeting prominent Russian officials including military leaders who spearheaded campaigns in Crimea and political heavy hitters linked to President Vladimir Putin.
“Dmitry Kiselyov is a propagandist for President Putin and well known for his anti-Semitism and hate speech,” says Secretary General Bjørn Engesland with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Board member Amund Trellevik in the press network fears entry-denial of Kremlin’s controversial propaganda-journalist Dmitry Kiselyov could be retaliated by refusing Norwegian journalists access to Russia.
Putin’s chief propagandist and television host had already booked his fishing vacation to Gjesvær in Finnmark when EU included him on the visa sanction list, also followed by Norway.
The official visit from Murmansk was to strengthen relations between Norwegian government and the neighboring Russian region. Instead, it all ended up as another example of the current east-west chill.
Amidst raising tensions between Russia and western countries, the regional people-to-people contacts across the Norwegian-Russian border continue to develop. Severomorsk and Sør-Varanger are now renewing their agreement on cooperation.
Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment Tine Sundtoft has canceled a planned trip to Russia next week as a reaction to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
