VZCZCXRO7802
OO RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHNY #0063/01 0361630
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 051630Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0016
INFO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0001
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OSLO 000063 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG 
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/05 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PARM PREL SENV ECON EFIS ENRG RS NO
SUBJECT: FM Stoere Goes to Moscow 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James T. Heg, Deputy Chief of Mission; REASON: 1.4(B) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  MFA Deputy Director for Northern and Russian 
Affairs Anne Kjesti Carlsen told PolOff February 5 that FM's 
Stoere's February 2 trip to Moscow should be viewed as preparatory 
work for President Medvedev's planned April visit to Norway.  She 
said discussions focused largely on efforts to increase economic 
cooperation and to conclude up to twelve agreements in time for 
Medvedev's visit; agreements ranging from new border regulations to 
increased scientific cooperation.  Carlsen said that the 
Russian-Norwegian disagreement over Barents Sea territory is 
continuing a "positive drive" towards resolution, while Stoere 
expressed his dismay to Lavrov over the continued high levels of 
pollution emitted by smelters in Russian town of Nickel, despite 
significant Norwegian financing to address the issue.  Carlsen said 
that relations with the U.S. were not a topic of conversation. 
Media reaction to the visit focused primarily on Stoere's criticism 
of Russia's recent crack-down on human rights, and his raising with 
Lavrov the concern over visas being denied for Norwegian Helsinki 
Committee members.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Medvedev to Visit Norway 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  Carlsen told PolOff that Stoere and Lavrov's discussion focused 
primarily on sixteen bilateral agreements currently in development, 
with the goal of completing  between ten to twelve agreements in 
time to be announced during Medvedev's visit.  The agreements 
include Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on scientific cooperation, 
meteorological cooperation, cooperation between Norwegian and 
Russian police, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and 
emission reductions.  Another MOU in the works which Carlsen said 
she expected to be completed in time would allow for visa free 
travel for Norwegian and Russian residents living within a thirty 
to fifty kilometer radius of the border between the two countries, 
fostering increased economic activity.  She explained that area 
residents who had been issued specific cards could travel freely 
back and forth between Norway and Russia, and would rely on the 
police to catching  card-holders if they strayed outside the 
agreed-upon area.  While some risks were involved, Carlsen said, 
Stoere and Lavrov agreed that the benefits of increased cooperation 
justified the risk. 
 
 
 
Cooperation and Border Disputes 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C)  Carlsen said that both parties stressed that while that 
while the development of the giant Shtokman field hinged upon 
whether or not it made commercial sense, overall broader 
cooperation on industrial standards in the High North would 
continue to be addressed.  She said both Lavrov and Stoere 
applauded the great reduction in illegal fishing problems in the 
High North, noting that Lavrov in particular was satisfied to see 
that significantly fewer Russian boats were being arrested in the 
Norwegian Economic Zone. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (C) In regards to the on-going Barents Sea border dispute, 
Carlsen said that the issue was discussed during a Lavrov- Stoere 
"tete-a-tete" and she had not received a read-out on the meeting. 
She did note a "continued positive drive in negotiations" to 
resolve the dispute.  She also said that Lavrov and Stoere agreed 
to disagree on progress made to reduce emissions from the smelters 
operating in the Russian city of Nickel, located just across the 
border from Norway.  She said Stoere informed Lavrov that the 
"several years old" agreement between the GoN and Russian partners 
in Nickel designed to  reduce emissions had failed and that he 
expected the Russian authorities to make an effort to control 
emissions.  Carlsen reported Lavrov offering that emissions from 
Nickel had been reduced by 40%, to which Stoere responded that they 
still remain five times higher than Norway's emissions. 
 
OSLO 00000063  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) MFA's press release issued February 3 noted that the two 
foreign ministers discussed High North cooperation, in particular 
the Barents Sea fish stocks, environment and nuclear safety , 
border control, energy, and economic cooperation.  They also 
discussed the Middle-East, Afghanistan, disarmament, and 
developments in Iran.  Carlsen referred to the discussion on 
international issues as more of a Tour d' Horizon, with significant 
time devoted to the recent London Conference on Afghanistan that 
both Lavrov and Stoere had attended.  She added that the U.S. 
relations with Norway and with Russia had not been discussed during 
the meeting. 
 
 
 
Norwegian Press Reaction 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.   (SBU) Norwegian press on Stoere's Moscow trip focused 
primarily on his criticism of Russia's recent crack-down on human 
rights demonstrators.  Stoere told reporters that he would take a 
"tougher tone" than previously with Lavrov, and raised the recent 
spate of visa denials for Norwegian researchers in general and 
specifically for Norwegian Helsinki Committee members.  Lavrov is 
reported to have responded that that he would investigate the 
situation. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Press also reported that Stoere met with Memorial's 
Svetlana Gannusjkina, recently nominated by Hoyre party leader Erna 
Solberg for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.  Stoere said it was 
important to hear what she had to say, and to acknowledge her 
courage and the courage of other human rights activists in Russia. 
Stoere was quoted as saying Norway had a general uneasiness about 
the state of Russia's civil society, adding that he had raised his 
concerns with Lavrov. 
WHITE