Russia Rejects Norwegian Militarization of the Svalbard Archipelago
Localization of the Svalbard Archipelago. X/ @OrmazabalIon
March 14, 2025 Hour: 7:54 am
Dual-use facilities allow military operations to be carried out in the territory of third countries.
On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested to Norwegian Ambassador Robert Kvile over the militarization of the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard.
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“On March 14, during a working meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Norwegian ambassador, Robert Kvile, the Russian side expressed its concern over the increasing militarization of the Svalbard archipelago by Norway,” stated the official Russian note.
“Contrary to the international legal regime established by the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty, which provides for the exclusively peaceful development of the archipelago and prohibits the use of its territory for military purposes, the archipelago is increasingly being drawn into Norway’s political-military planning, with the participation of the U.S. and NATO,” it added.
Russian diplomacy denounced that dual-use facilities operating in the Svalbard Archipelago allow for military activities, including conducting combat operations on the territory of third countries.
Furthermore, Russia called on Norway to refrain from “any activity that undermines the international legal foundations of the archipelago’s regime” and contributes to escalating tensions in the region.
Although Svalbard is under Norwegian sovereignty, travel to the island is visa-free, and a 1920 treaty allows all signatory countries, including Russia, to exploit its natural resources.
The archipelago is located midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, in an Arctic region that has become a geopolitical and economic hotspot as ice melts and relations between Russia and the West grow increasingly tense due to the war in Ukraine.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
