Russian Embassy in Norway calls arrest of Professor Molchanov vessel a politically motivated violation

STOCKHOLM, September 3. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in Norway considers the arrest of the Professor Molchanov vessel a politically motivated violation of international law, Russian Ambassador to Oslo Nikolay Korchunov told TASS.

"The embassy considers the arrest of the Professor Molchanov vessel, operated by the state-run Arcticugol company and owned by Russia’s Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), a politically motivated violation of international law. The arrest followed a ruling by the District Court of North Troms and Senja enforcing a Hague arbitration decision, whose jurisdiction in the Naftogaz case Russia does not recognize and in whose proceedings the Russian side did not participate," the ambassador said.

He noted that the ruling was issued on the eve of the Professor Molchanov’s arrival in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and made public while the vessel was in Barentsburg, clearly pointing to a coordinated and deliberate action.

The diplomat added that lawyers would appeal the Norwegian court’s ruling and defend Russia’s interests through legal means.