"Obviously, the commercial cooperation between Norwegian companies and some Russian companies is obviously influenced by the ongoing sanctions," Lien said on Monday.
Lien stressed, however, that the cooperation between Norway and Russia is still working in many areas, adding that it could improve in a multitude of sectors.
"I am very happy that we a running now cooperation on search and rescue in the Barents Sea, we have a running well-functioning cooperation on fisheries and on seismic activities," he explained.
Norway was one of the Western countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia, to which Russia retaliated with a ban on food imports.
The European Union, along with the United States and their allies, imposed a series of restrictive measures on Russia due to Moscow’s alleged involvement in Ukraine’s regional dispute with independence militias. Russia firmly denies the allegations.
