Putin returned to Russia the fish that the British had been catching for 68 years, Volodin said

At the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia has returned to itself the fish that the British ate for 68 years, said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Earlier, the State Duma adopted a law denouncing the 1956 agreement that allowed sailors from Great Britain to fish in the Russian zone of the Barents Sea.

“(Putin - ed.) He returned our fish to us, because the British, unscrupulous, ate it for 68 years. They announced sanctions for us, and they themselves form 40% of their diet, the fish menu, from our cod. Now let them lose weight. They're getting smarter! Because 40% of them are cod and other types of fish, including haddock, that form their diet. And one of my favorite dishes. But now we have returned this favorite dish to ourselves, on the initiative of our president,” Volodin said at the plenary session.

An agreement between the governments of the USSR and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was signed in Moscow on May 25, 1956. It grants the right to British fishing vessels to fish in the waters of the Barents Sea along the coast of the Kola Peninsula, along the mainland east of Cape Kanin Nos and along the coast of Kolguev Island, beyond three nautical miles from the low tide line on both the mainland and the islands. Since Russia became the legal successor of the USSR after its collapse, the agreement continued to be valid.

Considering the UK’s decision of March 15, 2022 to terminate the most favored nation regime in bilateral trade with Russia, the denunciation of the agreement “will not cause serious foreign policy and economic consequences” for the Russian Federation, the explanatory note says.