Russia ends 1956 fishing accord with UK

Russia is pulling out of a 1956 fishing agreement with Britain, reflecting the deepening divide between Russia and the West after two years of conflict and Cold War rhetoric, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 has escalated tensions between Moscow and the West, with each side portraying the other as an untrustworthy enemy.

The 1956 fishing deal, signed in London during a critical period in the Cold War, permitted British vessels to fish in the Barents Sea, the coast of the Kola Peninsula, and along the coast of Kolguyev Island.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, criticized the 1956 deal and accused the British of exploiting Russian waters for fishing.

After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the West imposed what it described as the toughest sanctions ever on a major economy, while Russia viewed the sanctions as a declaration of economic war. Despite this, Russia’s economy grew by 3.6 per cent last year.