STOCKHOLM: Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin has dismissed the reports saying that Russian fishing ships participate in intelli...
STOCKHOLM: Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin has dismissed the reports saying that Russian fishing ships participate in intelligence activity as nonsense, according to his statement released on Tuesday.
The statement was issued after state-owned television showed a documentary entitled "War in the Shadows" in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
"The film ‘War in the Shadows' contains unfounded statements about the participation of Russian fishing vessels in intelligence activities. This thesis, unfortunately, has spread in the Danish media, becoming the subject of emotional discussions," the diplomat said. "Only those who do not have knowledge of the essence of the subject or maliciously want to compromise and destroy the mutually beneficial decades-in-the-making cooperation between Russia and the Faroe Islands in the field of fisheries, can seriously discuss the disinformation nonsense that’s being spread in the Danish media today."
The ambassador explained that as a rule, "fishing is carried out as transparently as possible and is controlled by the authorities of the countries in whose waters it is done."
"Russian fishing vessels are regularly inspected both on the high seas and in ports," he said. "The issues of mutual inspections, the use of a satellite tracking system, and the exchange of information on vessels that are involved in fishing are a priority and are reviewed annually at the meetings of the Joint Russian-Norwegian Fisheries Commission and the Joint Russian-Faroese Fisheries Commission."
"Russia's cooperation with both Norway and the Faroe Islands in the field of fisheries is carried out on the basis of intergovernmental agreements and in full compliance with international law," he went on to say.
Cooperation with the Faroe Islands
The Russian ambassador also highlighted the provocative attempts of Danish politicians to distort what the mutually beneficial cooperation between the Faroe Islands and a number of countries and associations in the post-Soviet space was all about.
"Absolutely irresponsible and provocative are also the attempts of some Danish politicians and commentators to present contacts between representatives of the Faroe Islands and the Eurasian Economic Commission, which is the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia - TASS), on the development of mutually beneficial cooperation as Russia's desire to ‘drive a wedge’ in relations between Torshavn and Copenhagen, to weaken the ties of the Faroe Islands with the EU," the ambassador said.
He said that "the initiative to conclude a free trade agreement between the Faroe Islands and the EAEU in 2013 was put forward by the Faroe Islands."
"[Then] the optimal format of interaction was sought and only economic arguments were taken into account, given that the EAEU is a purely economic and customs association," Barbin said. "There has never been any political motive in the communication between the Faroe Islands and the EAEU.".
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