el Reino de Noruega
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the opening of an exhibition of antique maps devoted to the 70th anniversary of the 1949 Soviet-Norwegian Agreement on the Border Regime and the Procedure for the Settlement of Border Conflicts and Incidents, Kirkenes, October 25, 2019
Madam Minister,
Mr Mayor,
Friends,
I am delighted to be able to visit Kirkenes again. It is especially pleasant to be attending the opening of the exhibition at the Borderland Museum devoted to the 70th anniversary of the 1949 Soviet-Norwegian Agreement on the Border Regime and the Procedure for the Settlement of Border Conflicts and Incidents.
I believe that we must never forget that the border between Russia and Norway is the first formal European border. It was established back in 1326. The end of WWII did not result in any territorial disputes between Russia and Norway, and neither side disputed the border. They only needed to sign a formal agreement, which was done in 1949.
Our border has been marked for nearly 700 years. Different events took place on both sides of the border over this period of time and in the nearly 700-year-long historical period, but not once did the neighbouring nations cross the border with hostile, expansionist or any other evil intentions.
Historians claim that this is the most peaceful border in Europe, and possibly not only in Europe.
We would like to make a contribution to this exhibition. We have brought to Norway the copies of certain archival documents, including the topographic map of the border regions printed in 1825, documents on “trade and business” conducted by Russian citizens in northern Norway between 1871 and 1906, plus correspondence related to the preparations for and the holding of the polar expedition of Fridtjof Nansen in 1893-1896 . The collection of documents we have brought includes photographs taken during the liberation of Eastern Finnmark by the Red Army.
I wholeheartedly believe that this wonderful exhibition will contribute to the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet-Norwegian border agreement, as well as the 75th anniversary of the liberation of northern Norway from Nazi invaders, plus the development of our humanitarian and cultural cooperation, in particular, between the neighbouring regions of Russia and Norway.
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