Turkish science team explores Russia’s Svalbard plans

The 11-member team from the TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute came to Pyramiden on July 21.

They arrived “to study the potential of the town as part of the creation of an international scientific and education centre,” Trust Aktikugol writes on Vkontakte.

Turkey is one of the nations that this year have reached out to the BRICS club of major emerging nations in a bid to join.

Russia, currently holding the BRICS leadership, has long been enthusiastic about inviting what Moscow defines as “friendly countries” to team up for a new Arctic science centre aimed to resurrect the ghost town of Pyramiden.

Pyramiden was built by the Soviet Union as an Arctic mining community on Svalbard. The last batch of coal was shipped out in 1998.

Arktikugol, the state-own company running all Moscow’s activities at the Norwegian archipelago, is now looking for new ways to maintain presence at the geopolitical important spot between east and west in the Arctic.

“Turkish scientists were shown the technological, industrial and domestic infrastructure of the Pyramiden village,” Aktikugol explains.

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“During the meeting, issues of logistics on the Spitsbergen archipelago and the life of scientists in one of the northernmost settlements on the planet were discussed.”

The TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute is currently embarking on its 4th Arctic expedition aimed at studying impacts of climate changes. Last week, the team sailed into the Arctic sea ice north of Svalbard. 

Turkey officially became a signature country to the Svalbard Treaty on April 11th, 2024. Turkish citizens can now benefit from the privilege of engaging in the rights provided by the treaty, like living end engaging in commercial activities.

45 countries have signed the 1920 treaty. Before Turkey this year, Latvia and North-Korea signed in 2016.

Senior researcher Andreas Østhagen with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute believes Ankara’s motivation and decision to join the Svalbard Treaty are driven by great power aspirations and posturing.

“Being seen as part of the Arctic club is trendy,” Østhagen says to the Barents Observer. 

“There are also legitimate research interests in Turkey, linked to the Arctic. Russia, on the other hand, is interested in fostering support for its Arctic projects that are increasingly an alternative to the ‘West’. The Pyramiden project and overtures to BRICS countries is an example of this,” Andreas Østhagen explains.

The expert with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute says it is hard to understand, from a science-point-of-view, why Ankara potentially would choose to establish research in Pyramiden.

“Why Turkey, or any other country, would choose Pyramiden instead of the already established research infrastructure in Ny-Ålesund, escapes me. I think if a country other than Russia does that, it is for political purposes and not scientific,” Østhagen says.

Ny-Ålesund is is the research station on the northwest coast of Svalbard where the Norwegian state-owned company Kings Bay facilitates infrastructure for hundreds of international Arctic researchers and key institutions from countries like China, India, the Netherlands, Germany, South-Korea, France, and Sweden.

According to Russia’s Arktikugol company, talks will continue with the Turkish Arctic Science team “in a number of areas” following this week’s visit to Pyramiden.

First time conducted in 2019, this is the fourth time the Turkish Arctic Scientific Expedition (TASE) sails the waters around Svalbard. The expedition, that started in Tromsø, Norway, is sponsored by the Turkish Presidency and the Ministry of Industry and Technology and takes place on board the Norwegian-flagged Polar Xplorer ship.

Turkey has previously had a temporary science base to study climate changes in Horseshoe Island in Antarctica.