Widely varying views on Russian fisheries deal

Negotiations on a new fisheries deal between the Faroes and Russia are due to start within the next couple of months.

To the question of whether it is right to renew the deal, there are about as many views as there are political parties.

Here is a brief summary of what representatives from each of the seven parties said about the matter in KvF’s “Breddin” current affairs radio show this morning.

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Opposition party Sjálvsýri appeared to have the clearest view on the matter, with party leader Sámal Petur í Grund saying we should cut all ties with Russia:

”The current deal expires at the end of this year. We should tell them that our cooperation stops at that point unless the circumstances change.”

Djóni Nolsøe Joensen, of opposition party Javnaðarflokkurin, was less categoric:

“Before we make such a big decision, we need to make sure we know the exact financial value of this deal and the details of how much Faroese ships can fish here in relation to the quotas the Russians have.”

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Ruth Vang, leader of opposition party Framsókn, said that negotiating with Russia given the current situation is a big no-no:

“We could perhaps find a way to extend the current deal, but we should not sit down at a negotiation table with them. We shouldn’t seek to cut our ties with them immediately, but we should be prepared to do so if it becomes necessary.”

Høgni Hoydal, leader of opposition party Tjóðveldi, agrees with Vang that negotiating with Russians sends out an unfortunate signal to the world and that some sort of contract rollover measure might be worth considering:

“These are things we need to debate further. I have said so far that we should not make use of the ultimate tool, but now I like to think that this may become necessary.”

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Prime Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen, representing Sambandsflokkurin, said he has not made a final decision on whether the negotiations should go ahead.

“My duty as Prime Minister is to secure the Faroes in the short term as well as in the long term. If we make a short-term decision and cut all ties with Russia and this results in the Russians overfishing in the North Atlantic, what will we have gained then?” he asked.

“This is a highly complex issue with a multitude of angles. In the end, we should look for a balance between what we give the Russians and what we get in return.” 

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Christian Andreasen, leader of government party Fólkaflokkurin, wants to maintain the fisheries relations with Russia due to the great importance they have to the Faroes, despite the Faroes condemning the Russian invasion.

“We should extend our deal, but we should try to avoid negotiations. We should not give Russians the opportunity to show the world that they are negotiating with a western nation. The deal can be extended in other ways, for instance through our representation office in Moscow.”

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Foreign minister Jenis av Rana, representing government party Miðflokkurin, wants to make human rights a key topic of the upcoming negotiations with Russia.

“This would be a golden opportunity to engage in a dialogue with Russia about human rights, about right and wrong. We should seek to protect the interests of the Faroese families who rely on our fisheries in the Barents Sea, but we should certainly also set out some very, very clear conditions.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

Translated by prosa.fo.

More Faroese News in English.