John Espen Lien said he hoped the incident would be settled through negotiations. "We are in constant contact with the Russian authorities and are trying to find ways to settle the situation," he said.
Lien said Norway would insist that the trawler be convoyed to Norway to face charges of fishing violations. He denied reports that a coast guard ship had fired at the trawler.
The spokesman said the fishing boat had violated Norwegian laws and the incident should be investigated.
Norway's coast guard intercepted the Elektron trawler on October 15 for alleged fishing violations in Norwegian protected waters and began to follow the boat to port as ordered. However, the trawler changed course on October 16 and headed for Russian waters with two Norwegian fisheries inspectors aboard.
