NATO-møte på Svalbard; er det noen god ide`? - Independent Barents Observer

Longyearbyen is the Norwegian settlement on Svalbard. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

Moscow says NATO meeting on Svalbard is a provocation

An upcoming meeting by NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly in Longyearbyen is triggering a sharp reaction from Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

Thomas Nilsen

April 21, 2017

In a very direct-worded statement the foreign ministry says NATO is not needed in the Arctic.

“We strongly believe that there are no problems in the Arctic region that require NATO participation to solve, let alone militarily,” the statement reads.

NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly consists of delegated from the 28 NATO member countries. The Assembly holds different activities bringing together members of parliaments in various formats.

In May, one meeting will take place at Svalbard. Norway has the sovereignty at Svalbard, but the Svalbard Treaty puts certain stipulations, like demilitarisation of the archipelago.

Article 9 prohibits naval bases and fortifications and also the use of Svalbard for war-like purposes.

“Unprecedented military preparations”

“Russia operates based on the premise that all the states that are party to the Spitsbergen [Svalbard] Treaty of 1920 should be interested in ensuring that Spitsbergen remains an archipelago of peace and neighbourliness,” the foreign ministry says.

Moscow claims that the meeting is at odds with the spirit of the Svalbard Treaty.

“In the context of NATO’s current policy of “containing” Russia, accompanied by unprecedented military preparations near the border of our country, the attempts to bring Spitsbergen under the wing of this military-political bloc and to hold its meetings there are at odds with the spirit of the 1920 Treaty. We consider this to be a provocative policy.”

One thing is the location of the meeting; another thing Moscow reacts on is the items to be discussed “the agenda of the seminar includes, among other things, discussing how geopolitics and future of the Arctic are interconnected.”

“Escalation of tension”

“The escalation of tension is not in the long-term interests of the countries of Northern Europe and weakens, rather than strengthens, their security.”

Moscow’s statement comes just ahead of the Norwegian Government’s presentation of its renewed Strategy of the High North, to be made public in Bodø on Friday by Prime Minister Erna Solberg together with Foreign Minister Børge Brende.

Norway, Russia tension over Svalbard has escalated in recent years after Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin made a stop-over at Svalbard in 2015 on his way to Camp Barneo, an annual Russian temporary base on the sea-ice near the North Pole. The visit created an outcry from Norway. Rogozin is on the EU’s and Norway’s sanction list because of conflict involvement in Eastern Ukraine, and is consequently barred entry to Norwegian territory. Svalbard, however, is visa-free zone and Moscow protested Norway’s attempt to restrict any Russian citizens an undisputed right to visit the archipelago.