Arctic News

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More Arctic fun for Russians:

Super-rich Russians plan big party on North Pole

Putin’s trouble-making bishop sails to Svalbard as Norway’s King Harald V...

Meanwhile the Norwegian King and Queen is in Longyearbyen to emphasize that this is Norwegian territory:

Kong Harald om økt Svalbard-oppmerksomhet: – Gir oss utfordringer og muligheter

– Sending signals to Russia and the USA

When the royal couple were asked on Saturday why they wanted to come to Bjørnøya right now, the king was clear:
– This is part of Norway. That’s why we are here, said King Harald.
He pointed out that Bjørnøya is important for Norway.
– It is very important. First of all, it is important that people live here. Then we have control over the area, says the king.

The royal couple’s visit to Svalbard comes at a time when Russia’s war against neighboring Ukraine is in its fourth year, and US President Donald Trump has said that he wants Greenland, which is formally part of Denmark.
– When Norwegian authorities choose to send the most symbolic thing, namely the monarch, they communicate in several arenas. They tell the Norwegians who live on Svalbard – where the archipelago makes up 16 percent of the Norwegian territory – that they are not forgotten and not isolated, but an integral part of the Kingdom of Norway, said Tormod Heier, professor at the Norwegian National Defence University, to NRK in connection with the visit to Bjørnøya.

– Then it sends more political signals to Russia that Svalbard is high on our radar. And it sends signals to the US that Svalbard is an integral part of Norwegian territory.

Source: Kong Harald om økt Svalbard-oppmerksomhet: – Gir oss utfordringer og muligheter – NRK Norge – Oversikt over nyheter fra ulike deler av landet