Grey Zone Agreement extended

The Grey Zone Agreement has been extended until 7 July, which is when the treaty between Norway and Russia on maritime delimitation and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean will enter into force.  The extension was formalised through an exchange of letters on 20 June.  

If it had not been extended, the Grey Zone Agreement with Russia would have automatically expired on 1 July. By means of an exchange of letters on 20 June 2011, Norway and Russia extended the agreement for an additional six days, until 7 July 2011, the date on which the Maritime Delimitation Treaty will enter into force. 

The Grey Zone Agreement was first concluded between Norway and the Soviet Union on 11 January 1978 as a provisional practical arrangement for fisheries control and enforcement in a specified adjacent area of the Barents Sea pending agreement on a delimitation treaty. Since then the Grey Zone Agreement has been extended 32 times for a year at a time, most recently on 21 June 2010 with effect until 1 July 2011.

This is a technical extension linked to the timing of the entry into force of the delimitation treaty.  The extension and its duration were agreed after the parties had completed their ratification preparations and exchanged ratification instruments in Oslo on 7 June 2011. This is in keeping with the parties’ agreement that the Grey Zone Agreement will no longer apply when the delimitation treaty enters into force.