Changing security environment in the Arctic

Norwegian Minister of Defense Grete Faremo spoke on the topic of “Challenges and Opportunities in the Emerging Arctic: A Norwegian Perspective”, at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Thursday October 28, the Norwegian Government’s web site reads.

- Discussions in media about the High North are often focusing on competing interests and the potential for conflict. We see titles like, “the return to the cold war”, and “the race for the High North” – and speculations concerning competition for oil and other natural resources. From a Norwegian perspective, we don’t agree with these more alarmist views. On the contrary, the region is currently stable and calm and the tension is low. We will do all we can to preserve that situation, Faremo said.

Specifically, Farmo mentioned the legal framework provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, fisheries agreements, and the recent agreement between Norway and Russia on the delimitation line in the Barents Sea, as examples of successful dialogue and cooperation in the High North.

- All the countries in the region currently have a mutual interest in keeping confidence, dialogue and cooperation on a high level. This is in many ways a precondition for solid economic development, she said.

- We need to cooperate closely with all parties in the High North. This includes enhancing NATO’s relevance in areas where the Alliance should have a role. We also need to make every possible effort to get Russia to be a real stakeholder in a future stable and predictable region. Without serious and constructive Russian involvement, we will all be faced with unwanted challenges in the region. In this area NATO, through the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) should have an important role, the minister said.