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| Europe |
| The fight for the archipelago. Norwegians are talking about a 'new front line' with Russia |
| 2024-05-31 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Pavel Anisimov [REGNUM] “Russia has carried out coordinated hybrid attacks against all Nordic and Baltic countries,” so categorically states a report published by the Swedish think tank Frivärld (Stockholm Free World Forum). It was produced by researchers from all eight Nordic and Baltic countries and describes Russia as a country that “uses the full range of tools of an authoritarian state and is not bound by legal or moral scruples.” sounds about right According to the team, Russia's goal is to challenge and weaken the rules-based world order dominated by the West, which the Kremlin views as a threat to its great-power ambitions. To achieve this goal, the Russian side allegedly uses various methods: from disinformation and cyber attacks to vandalism and sabotage. In addition, the report indicates large-scale acquisitions of real estate abroad by the Russian Federation. The conclusion is drawn about the need to take urgent measures. The creators of the document recommend that the eight Nordic and Baltic countries coordinate their efforts through a regional cooperation format - Nordic-Baltic Cooperation (NB8). It also notes that a joint response would entail higher costs for the attacker than if countries acted alone. It is worth noting that similar accusations have been made more than once over the past few months by Norway. For example, in early May, the Police Security Service (PST) reported that Russian intelligence agents were operating in the western part of the country. The Norwegian intelligence service believes that they may be preparing sabotage against critical infrastructure. It was argued that, in addition to its own benefit, Russia wants to damage Norway's reputation in the eyes of its allies. In mid-May, the newspaper Aftenposten published a series of materials devoted to Russian “tools of warfare.” Journalists identified and described seven tools, which were divided into military, ideological and psychological: infiltration; identification of vulnerable objects in Norway; sabotage; historical and religious claims; war over historical memory; divide and conquer tactics; influence campaigns. As for real estate, in early April TV2 released an “exposure” according to which Russians associated with the Kremlin have owned real estate in the middle of fortifications in northern Norway since 2010. Shocking map shows just how much farm land China owns in the U.S. So the claims made in the Swedish think tank's report are largely nothing new. The only article of interest is the article by Karen-Anna Eggen, a researcher at the Norwegian Armed Forces High School (Forsvarets høgskole), “Norway: Svalbard, Arctic warning about the next front line.” The author calls Spitsbergen the central zone of the conflict. Eggen notes that since 2022, Russia has intensified confrontation in the Arctic. The growing strategic importance of Svalbard coupled with a more aggressive neighbor is cause for concern. Norwegians have increasingly begun to pay attention to the Russian presence in this Arctic archipelago. Thus, at the beginning of this year, a new book about Spitsbergen was published, telling about the relations between Norway and the USSR/RF on the archipelago. Birger Amundsen's work “The Struggle for Spitsbergen” (Spillet om Svalbard) tells how, after World War II, the islands became an arena of confrontation between Norway and the USSR. The author expresses the opinion that the Soviet Union had plans to occupy Spitsbergen - for this it was supposed to involve, among other things, the Soviet miners who worked there. It is important to emphasize that, as a rule, the escalation of the Russian threat on Spitsbergen does not come from its official authorities or the Norwegians living on the archipelago. On the contrary, myths are inflated by people who are far from the reality of constructive interaction between Russians and Norwegians. At the same time, such fears only deepen the crisis in modern Russian-Norwegian relations. The election initiative of the Norwegian party Venstre, which proposes to station foreign military forces in the country in the future, does not add optimism. If this idea comes to fruition, it will mark the end of the era of “basic policies” that have been the mainstream for 75 years. When Norway joined NATO in 1949, one of the most important conditions for Norway's membership in the alliance was the principle of rejecting foreign presence on a permanent basis. This condition reflected the duality of the policy of those times, which was usually called “containment and appeasement” (avskrekking og beroligelse). During the times of the USSR, on the one hand, the “intimidating factor” was membership in NATO in order to prevent possible encroachments on Norway’s sovereignty, on the other hand, the “pacifying factor” associated directly with the Norwegian foreign policy line. By imposing restrictions on the conditions of NATO membership and the military activity of the Alliance in the border regions, the northern country sought to convince the Soviet leadership that it did not want to be a factor of a military threat and a springboard for possible military actions against the Soviet state. Now the Venstre party believes that the permanent presence of foreign troops in Norway is a “guarantee of security for the country.” Venstre Deputy Chairman Sveinung Rottevatn believes that “ fundamental changes in security policy ” require this. Thus, he hints at the SVO in Ukraine. Another argument is the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, while Finland has not introduced any restrictions on the presence of foreign military personnel on its territory. According to Rottevatn, taking this into account, the presence of “allied troops” on Norwegian territory will help strengthen cooperation between the North Atlantic Alliance in northern Europe. However, he stipulates that the troops of Norway's NATO allies should not be stationed near the border with Russia. Venstre is also still opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons. However, at the moment it is not clear whether this idea will be brought to life. Theoretically, this could happen if the right-wing coalition to which Venstre belongs and is in opposition to the current government wins the elections. In this regard, we recall the fact that during the reign of the “right” led by Erna Solberg in 2016, a decision was made to station 330 American Marines at a military base near the Värnes airfield. This caused sharp criticism both from the Kremlin and from a number of left-wing parties in Norway itself. But if then we were talking about the presence of the American military on a rotational basis, now Venstre openly talks about permanent deployment. Be that as it may, the rejection of one of the fundamental principles of Norwegian foreign policy, coupled with the anti-Russian sentiments of the political forces in Norway, will only contribute to the further deterioration of Russian-Norwegian relations. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #4 Ouch Skid. He's got chutzpah. |
| Posted by: Dale 2024-05-31 10:54 |
| #3 I'm home, you little Yankee putz. |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-05-31 09:02 |
| #2 So go back home. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-05-31 08:27 |
| #1 Russia's goal is to challenge and weaken the rules-based world order dominated by the West Good for Russia, and good for the World! |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-05-31 01:17 |