”Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has again made the Arctic strategically important. For instance, there are Russian nuclear weapon capabilities at the Kola Peninsula near us. The tension does not stem from the Arctic itself, but there is an increased risk of an arms race in the region, as we see it. In connection, there is a risk of incidents escalating out of our control,” says Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström (the Moderate Party) and continues:
”This is the reason I believe that Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO is so important at this time. When we become members, seven of eight Arctic states will be part of the alliance – and that will do a lot of good for the security in the Euro-Atlantic area, including the High North,” he adds.
On Tuesday, Billström attended the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, where he met his minister colleagues from Norway and Iceland, as well as high-standing officials from the US and Finland, for a panel discussion.
The Swedish MFA elaborates on his views to High North News:
”Through many years, we have seen an increased militarization of the Arctic region – something Sweden, among others, observes with unease. This unease has become stronger in the wake of Russia’s warfare in Ukraine. We believe that Swedish and Finnish NATO memberships will weigh up for this development and be a substantial contribution to creating more security and safety in this part of the world.”
Billström presumably referred especially to the military build-up in the Russian Arctic, but the arms race remark also alludes to American militarization. […]
Norwegian MFA Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor) agrees that a stronger military presence is needed in the North, but also emphasizes the importance of openness and predictability when striving for low tension.
”The Russian regime is becoming more totalitarian and unpredictable. However, we cannot change our geography. Russia is Norway’s neighbor. We need to maintain some contact to minimise the risk of misunderstandings and unintentional escalation in the Arctic,” says Huitfeldt and goes on:
”The situation in the North is currently stable. We see a large degree of continuity in Russia’s activities in the North. But things can change fast. We are monitoring military activity closely. We are increasing our defense presence and coordinating with allies. We must be transparent and predictable.” Läs artikel