By Paul Goble, for Window on Eurasia
Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon led a celebration in Longyearbyen of the centenary of the coming into force of the 1920 Svalbard Treaty which incorporated the archipelago into Norway. In response, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman denounced Oslo for what he said was its violation” of that treaty and its “anti-Russian discrimination.”
Aleksey Fadeyev said that “we note the increasing efforts of the Norwegian authorities to strengthen their sovereignty in violation of the 1920 treaty to the detriment of our interests” and bringing the archipelago into “the orbit of NATO’s military and political planning structures” (mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/2041388/#10
He further declared that “with its provocative actions, Oslo is creating an atmosphere of confrontation around the archipelago which would lead to increased tensions in the high latitudes” and said that Moscow “expects Oslo to reconsider its politicized and unconstructive approaches and return to the conscientious fulfilment” of its 2025 commitments.
These Russian complaints came five years after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a letter to Oslo denouncing the Norwegians for what he called actions discriminating against Russia, a letter Norway rejected out of hand (thebarentsobserver.com/arctic/amid-jubilant-celebration-at-svalbard-norway-sends-strong-signal-it-will-not-accept-encroachment-on-sovereignty/116857).
That rejection is consistent with Norway’s rejection of Russian claims about Svalbard and will certainly govern is approach to the latest suggestion by Moscow that Norway is responsible for any problems (thebarentsobserver.com/news/amid-norways-celebration-of-svalbard-treaty-comes-another-verbal-attack-from-moscow/435081).
By Paul Goble, for Window on Eurasia
