Russian official says Norway unblocks food for miners

BARENTSBURG, Norway (AP) — A Russian official says Russian food supplies bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via mainland Norway after weeks of tension. Sergey Gushchin, the Russian consul general based in the settlement of Barentsburg, said Wednesday that Oslo had allowed Norwegian carriers to pick up the disputed cargo and cross the Russian-Norwegian border with it. Russian officials previously accused Oslo of blocking a shipment of essential goods, including food and medication, destined for Russian miners in Barentsburg, on the far-Northern Svalbard archipelago. Gushchin said that there were no immediate food shortages in Barentsburg.