"We must strengthen Arctic defences to deter Putin"
Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Yvette Cooper is touring the Arctic Circle to bolster regional security and to highlight the importance of putting up a stronger challenge against hostile states who seek to meddle in the High North.
Cooper visited Finland on Wednesday before she flew directly that evening to northern Norway to meet British troops training in challenging winter weather.
"Britain is stepping up on Arctic security. With our allies we are working to strengthen Arctic defences and deter any attempts from the likes of Vladimir Putin to threaten our interests and our infrastructure," Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
On X, Cooper posted a message to Russia n even more direct language:
"Finland is on the front line of Moscow's hybrid threats in the Arctic. From their reckless shadow fleet to attacks on vital undersea cables."
The United Kingdom is a key partner to both Finland and Norway and London's high-profile visit comes amid increased global interest to Arctic security as Donald Trump threatens to seize control over Greenland.
Cooper underlined that Arctic security is critical to protecting Britain and NATO.
We see it as our responsibility and our duty to tackle these challenges head on, making us all safer in the process. Arctic security is a critical transatlantic partnership issue for the security of Britain and NATO. Coming together as an alliance allows us to unify and tackle this emerging threat.
In Bardufoss - northern Norway - the Foreign Secretary met with Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide before the two went to Camp Viking to view British and Norwegian soldiers in joint exercises.
The base was set up in 2023 to support Britain's commandos with Arctic warfare knowledge and training. In March, a large Norwegian-led NATO exercise kicks off with up to 25,000 allied soldiers in the border areas from the coast of the Norwegian Sea to the deep forests of Lapland in northern Finland.
Barth Eide said the northern regions are "a strategic centre of gravity" for both Norwegian and European security.
Based on the coast of the Barents Sea, the Northern Fleet is the largest of Russia's four fleets. Headquartered in Severomorsk north of Murmansk, it practically occupies most of the coastline practically all of the coastline between it and the border with Norway. In case of war, this fleet will seek to take control of Arctic waters north of Norway, an expanded buffer zone against NATO that aims to protect Moscow's ballistic missile submarines.
Before Christmas, Norway and the UK signed a defence agreement allowing for their two navies to operate side by side in the North Atlantic.
