Barents Review: The further north, the better relations
“The further north you go, the better East-West relations”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said when visiting the northern Norwegian town of Kirkenes in summer of 2998. The good relations are highlighted also in the Barents Review, a new book about cooperation in the Barents Region. A main reason for the good relationship is years of cross-border trust-building, contact activities and joint projects, the authors of the book argue.
The book, which is titled “Talking Barents”, is written by staff members of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat and looks at political developments, cross-border projects, border-crossing procedures, oil and gas issues, indigenous peoples affairs and the relationship between Russian regions and the federal centre.
Editor Atle Staalesen says to BarentsObserver that the book is intended to be a contribution in the debate about international relations in the High North. The Barents Review is planned to be an annual publication. The Barents Region has unsettled international borders, high military presence, huge natural resources and big social and economical divides. These elements, often the source of conflicts, have however not hampered the development of fruitful cross-border cooperation in the northernmost part of Europe. On the contrary, relations in the region are positively developing with more border crossing activities. A question poll conducted as part of the project also shows that people in the region want more cooperation. More than 80 percent of the 600 respondents in Murmansk city and Pechenga Rayon in the poll say they want the Murmansk Oblast to engage more in international cooperation.
Despite good relations, the Barents Cooperation still has a long way to go. The authors of the book argue that cross-border travel should be further facilitated and the political cooperation made more efficient. That will prepare the ground for further success in the region, they maintain.
Article from BarentsObserver.com web site.