NATO Parliamentary Assembly discusses Alliance role in High North
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre told the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that the alliance should increase its role in the High North. Deputy Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide believes this should be done in cooperation with Russia.
- The challenges in the High North are important to NATO countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre pointed in a speech on Sunday to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which currently is holding its spring session in Oslo, Norway, news paper Nordlys writes.
As examples he emphasized climate, energy and safety at sea. He underlined that it is important to hold on to NATO’s relevance, both by operations outside the alliance’s core area and by a strong presence in local areas.
On Saturday Norwegian Deputy Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide held his speech to the Assembly, where he said that an increase of NATO’s role in the High North should be done in cooperation with Russia:
- An increased NATO profile in the Arctic should be tailored not to provoke Russia, but to demonstrate Allied interest in the area. This could be done by establishing a presence sufficient to act as a stabilizing factor in conceivable crisis scenarios and provide opportunities for interaction with Russian counterparts, a press release from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly reads.
Eide called on the Alliance to search actively for areas of cooperation of mutual benefit with Russia, including addressing challenges related to expected new Arctic sea lines of communication. He cited as examples surveillance, patrolling, and search and rescue.
The Norwegian Deputy Minister of Defence went further in calling for a comprehensive approach by NATO to the challenges in the High North, especially the development of good working relationships with organizations such as the Arctic Council, the UN Convention of the Law of the Seas, the International Maritime Organization and the EU.
