RUSSIA PROTESTS OVER ASSET SEIZURE

MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 3 /SRNA/ – Russia has demanded that Norway unconditionally respect international law after Russian movable and immovable property was seized at the request of Ukrainian companies, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Norway's chargé d'affaires ad interim in Moscow, Bjorn Svenungsen, was summoned to the ministry today and handed a strong protest over the continued seizures.

"We demanded that Oslo unconditionally respect international law, including the provisions of the Svalbard Treaty, which guarantees citizens of the signatory states free access to the archipelago," the ministry said in a statement.

Moscow said access to the archipelago has been made significantly more difficult by the seizure of a Russian vessel, Sputnik reported.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry and the relevant Russian authorities will seek to have the seizure of Russian property lifted. The Consul General of the Russian Federation on Svalbard is providing the necessary consular and other assistance to the crew members who remain on board," the ministry said on its website.

On Monday, the Governor of Svalbard, Norway's archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, seized the Russian vessel "Professor Molchanov", anchored in Barentsburg, on the orders of the Nord-Troms District Court.

The seizure followed a court ruling granting Ukraine’s Naftogaz the right to seize the vessel.

In a decision dated August 31, 2026, the Nord-Troms District Court authorized Naftogaz to seize the "Professor Molchanov" in Barentsburg, Svalbard.

The legal proceedings and the ruling are part of the company's efforts to recover assets that Russia expropriated in 2014.

The court ordered the vessel to be moored at a location designated by the governor, and it was decided that the ship will remain in Barentsburg until the governor or the Nord-Troms District Court rules otherwise.