The political climate between Norway and Russia has varied between cool and frigid since 2014. Now there are signs of thaw. Tomorrow afternoon, foreign ministers Børge Brende and Sergej Lavrov meet in Arkhangelsk.

That will be the first bilateral meeting on foreign ministerial level between Norway and Russia since 2014.

The background for Brende’s visit to Russia is an invitation from Lavrov to participate at the Arctic conference “The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue International Forum” in Arkhangelsk.

Brende accepted the invitation as early as a month ago. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs has, however, been sparse with comments on the first Norwegian minister-level visit to Russia since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea.

– Our embassy has recommended Moscow that it organizes a bilateral meeting with Norways foreign minister Børge Brende during the conference, said Senior Advisor Andrey Leonidovitch Kolesnikov at the Russian Embassy in Oslo to High North News before the weekend. (Norwegian article)

Whether the embassy’s recommendation has been successful or whether a Norwegian initiative has led to tomorrow’s meeting is not known. However, the program is clear.

– The High North and cooperation in the Arctic are high priorities for Norway. Russia is an important cooperation partner and actor in the Arctic, and the Arkhangelsk conference provides a good frame for continuing the political dialogue with Russia about questions of joint interest, Foreign Minister Børge Brende says in a press statement.

Brende is meeting with Lavrov tomorrow afternoon, followed by a working dinner with both Lavrov and other Nordic foreign ministers later in the day.

Brende is also to address the Arctic conference.

– Much of the Norwegian-Russian cooperation in the North takes place on a regional level, both during the regional Barents Cooperation and between counties in Northern Norway and Northwestern Russia. They cooperate in areas such as education, research, health, nutrition, indigenous people and culture. I will therefore also take the opportunity to meet some of the Russian governors who participate in the Arctic forum in Arkhangelsk, the foreign minister says.

The Foreign Minister is giving a speech at Talking Barents, an event organized by the Barents Secretariat. He is also to meet the Governor of Arkhangelsk, igor Orlov, and the Governor of Murmansk Marina Kovtun. He will also visit an exhibition about Arctic indigenous people’s food culture, a project organized by the World Council of Reindeer Herders.

High North News will attend the conference in Arkhangelsk, where more than 1,500 delegates from 14 countries have signed up.

(highnorthnews)

Arkhangelsk: North Norwegian business and politics hope for a better relationship with Russia. They believe in a giant market on the other side of the border – and hope for political thaw. Following his meeting yesterday with his Russian colleague Sergej Lavrov, Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende says it is important to strengthen the cooperation between Russia and Norway.

It has been three years since the Norwegian and the Russian foreign ministers met.

– Lavrov, just like I, makes a distinction between our bilateral relationship and the relationship with the EU and Europe, a relationship that has been difficult ever since the annexation of the Crimea. We agree that this is not first and foremost a bilateral relationship between Norway and Russia, and that it is important to strengthen our cooperation. Lavrov is happy that I am here now, and I think we manage this balance, Børge Brende says.

Disagreement about Svalbard

Børge Brende made no secret of there having been disagreements in the meeting between the two.

Sergej Lavrov amongst others raised the issue of Norwegian Svalbard policy, following the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin’s being denied access to Svalbard in 2015. The fact that Lavrov chose to raise this issue with Børge Brende goes to prove that Russia still disagrees with the Norwegian way of practicing the Svalbard Treaty.

When HNN asks about why Svalbard became an issue at the Norwegian-Russian summit, Børge Brende responds:

– It is not odd that Svalbard is mentioned. I met Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin earlier today. Russia has her view on that matter, though we are of the opinion that the same rules that apply on the mainland shall also apply on Svalbard. We have differing views on that. I argued our side, which is a view he knows from before.

High North theme

In the meeting, which lasted about an hour, a series of questions concerning the High North were raised, including the situation at the border-crossing station at Storskog, Norway, following the flow of refugees from Russia last year.

– We also agree on continuing our environmental cooperation and our nuclear security cooperation. We spoke also about the economic commission that is to meet for the first time in a long time, and about how we can increase the economic trade between our countries. Of course, that only applies within the context of the ongoing restrictions.

Børge Brende will not agree that this meeting signifies a softening of the sanctions.

– We discussed the respective starting points of the Russian and the Norwegian interests, and what we as neighbors have a joint interest in solving. We will just have to live with NATO and the EU disagreeing with Russia. Norway is a member of NATO and supports the EU.

Alone after the meeting

Børge Brende calls the meeting a good one.

– It was substantial and conducted in a friendly tone.

The Russian foreign minister did not want to meet the press together with Børge Brende after their meeting.

Before the meeting he nevertheless expressed that “it was good that Norway had finally come to its senses” and come to Russia.

(highnorthnews)

Russia has warned Norway over consequences of joining NATO ballistic missile defense (BMD) plans. According to Russian ambassador to Oslo, Moscow will retaliate. Norway’s possible accession to NATO’s missile shield «will be a new factor that will be considered in our strategic planning as the emergence of an additional problem in the Arctic region», Teimuraz Ramishvili told the Norwegian state media network NRK.

In 2017, Norway may become a part of BMD. The Norwegian government has appointed an expert group to consider a possible Norwegian contribution to the missile shield. A detailed report on the issue is currently being prepared by experts from the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment and the US Missile Defense Agency to be submitted the year.

Norway has no interceptors on its soil but there are other ways to contribute into the anti-missile plans. Denmark does not host missiles but it committed itself to the bloc’s BMD in 2014, working to equip its frigates with advanced radar systems capable of detecting and tracking ballistic missiles. The missile defense program continues to be implemented despite the fact that after the nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015, there is no rationale for it.

Oslo is a participant in the US-led Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum. The Norwegian contribution to the missile defense system has not yet been decided on. Even without interceptors, Norway could contribute by integrating into the BMD system its Globus II/III radar in the Vardøya Island located near the Russian border just a few kilometers from the home base of strategic submarines and 5 Aegis-equipped Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates. The Vardøya radar can distinguish real warheads from dummies.

Another radar located in Svalbard (the Arctic) can also be used by US military for missile defense purposes. Senior US officials and politicians have visited the site during the last few years, including former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, former State Secretary John Kerry and Republican Senator John McCain. The radar is installed in violation of the 1925 treaty which states that Svalbard has a demilitarized status. The visitors invented different reasons, like viewing the effects of climate change (John Kerry) or highlighting the plight of polar bears (John McCain) to justify the need to inspect the site.

Installation of BMD sites might potentially undermine the efficiency of Russian strategic nuclear forces as a means of deterrence.

Norway is executing a drastic change in its military policy towards a far more aggressive posture. Even though the country is small, it has the sixth biggest military budget per capita, after the United States, Israel, Singapore and some ‘monarchies’ in the Persian Gulf. The country spends 7.3 billion dollars on the military, more than Sweden (5.7 billion), a country with twice the population. Its geographic position makes it a key element of NATO military planning. The nation’s leading political parties want an increased focus on ‘strategic assets’ like F-35, capable of striking deep into Russian territory, submarines and surveillance capabilities.

Norway hosts 330 US Marines in the central areas of the country, formally on a ‘rotating’ basis. The rotation does not change the fact that the forces are permanently present in Norway. They are deployed at the Vaernes military base, about 1,500 km (900 miles) from the Russian territory, but the training program involves traveling closer to the border. Norway and Russia share a small land border far in the north.

The Marines can be easily reinforced. The US forward storage areas have been upgraded to store cutting edge weapons and equipment for about 16,000 Marines. Building up stockpiles is a key part of US strategy to enhance its capabilities in Europe. There are plans to warehouse tanks, artillery and other fighting vehicles at other locations around the Old Continent.

The only purpose for the deployment is preparation for an attack against Russia. The Marines are first strike troops. The provocative move is taking place at the time the Russia-NATO relationship hit a new low as the bloc’s forces deploy in Eastern Europe and tensions run high in the Black Sea and elsewhere. According to Heather Conley, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Europe Program, Northern Europe is now being viewed as a «theatre of operations».

There are other plans to increase US military presence in Norway. According to a report of Washington-based Center for Strategic and international Studies (CSIS), «The former Royal Norwegian Navy base at Olavsvern is ideal for supporting submarine operations in the extreme North Atlantic and Arctic Seas». The think tank believes it may be possible for Norway to nationalize and reopen a portion of the facility to support the rotational presence of US, UK, French, and Norwegian submarines. Olavsvern was NATO’s closest naval base to Russia’s submarine bases along the coast of the Kola Peninsula west of Murmansk.

It was reported last year that a study group from the US Navy visited both Andøya and Evenes airports in northern Norway to see if any of the two airports could be suitable to serve as a base for American P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft.

The deployment of NATO forces to Norway is clearly a provocative act directed at Moscow. Norway shares a 121 mile border with Russia, while the Russian Northern Fleet is based in the Murmansk region, approximately 100 miles from the border.

Norway has pledged not to host foreign forces on its territory. It had stashed stockpiles of weapons in preparation for a possible conflict, but until recently, foreign troops were allowed into the country only temporarily for training purposes. Oslo had adhered to this principle even at the height of the Cold War.

Shifting away from the «no foreign forces on national soil» policy is fraught with consequences. Turning the national territory into a spearhead for an offensive against Russia inevitably makes Norway a target for a retaliatory strike. Russia did not start it. Actually, very few NATO members take part in the BMD plans. The decision to join would be seen as an outright provocation staged by a neighboring state. By doing so, Norway will deteriorate the relations and greatly reduce its own security which can only be achieved through developing of partnership and strengthening of centuries of good neighborly relations.

(N.Sethu, zerohedge)