(CNN) -- Russia and Norway signed a deal Wednesday that defines their maritime border, settling a long-running dispute that has affected commercial fishing and energy interests.
The deal comes after negotiations that lasted four decades, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency of Russia reported.
The two countries have disputed a region in the Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean for 40 years, the news agency said, a disagreement that "often resulted in detentions of fishing vessels".
The deal clears the way for the lifting of a 30-year moratorium on oil and gas extraction in the disputed region, RIA-Novosti reported.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the treaty would "open a new page in bilateral relations," the news agency reported.
CNN
