MFA Meeting in the North With Serious Backdrop
Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide invited his Estonian colleague, MFA Margys Tsahkna, to a bilateral meeting in Bodø. (Photo: Hilde Bye)
Bodø, Northern Norway (High North News): The Norwegian MFA Espen Barth Eide emphasizes the importance of creating a shared understanding of the security policy dynamic in the Arctic among Nordic and Baltic states. He also insists that Norway is working to convey the Norwegian way of thinking about Arctic matters to the US.
The Norwegian MFA Espen Barth Eide (Labor) says he has not registered any significant changes in the US approach to Norway's immediate areas in the North so far. Still, he sees a continued interest in the Arctic and the High North.
The new Trump administration's statements and actions lately have created significant uncertainty in Europe. Trump's dealings around Russia's warfare in Ukraine and peace negotiations, including the recent news that the USA will suspend weapons support for the country, have particularly evoked reactions.
In the Arctic region, the Trump administration is particularly interested in gaining control over Greenland.
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"If we let Trump's Greenland signals rest for a bit, my experience is that the US is showing major and constructive interest in the Arctic. There really isn't much news on that front," Eide says to High North News when we meet him in Bodø, Northern Norway.
"For the US, there is a sort of fundamental security interest in having Norwegian eyes and ears on the ground, in the ocean and air here, and we don't see that that has changed," he adds.
This among other things applies to Norway's significant role within High North intelligence, particularly surveillance of Russian nuclear submarines' operations and military activity in the ocean areas in the North.
Furthermore, Eide says he had conversations with his American colleague last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), in which the High North was on the agenda.
"One of the topics was our Arctic Council cooperation, as well as the military cooperation around the Arctic, which he appreciated."
So you are not registering any signals of major changes in the US approach to the High North?
"Of course, there's this with Greenland, but not something that [directly, ed. note] affects us," says Eide.
Concerned with connecting them to our way of thinking about the Arctic.
"Not lawless"
"A lot can still happen, but at the moment, we are concerned with conveying and connecting the US to our long-standing way of thinking [about the Arctic, ed. note]," continues the MFA.
"This region is not a lawless space in which everyone fights for resources. The resources, however, are located in someone's territory or economic zone. There isn't much to speak of in the free international waters, and this is a.o. due to geology. It simply is not true that the region is a place where one is "fighting" for resources," he elaborates, adding:
"However, it is correct that this is an area of great military significance in security policy crisis and war."
Norway holds regular meetings with nearby countries such as Estonia. They often take place in the countries' capitals. "I have begun using Bodø [as a meeting place, ed. note]. It provides us with an opportunity to visit the Norwegian Joint Headquarters and receive insights into the situation as we see it from here," says MFA Eide. In September, he also welcomes his British colleague, MFA David Lammy (Labor), to Bodø. (Photo: Hilde Bye)
Joint situational awareness
High North News met the Norwegian MFA and his Estonian colleague Margus Tsahkna (Estonia 200) during their bilateral meeting in Bodø, Northern Norway.
Eide states that having the meeting here provides insights into the situation in the North and the world seen from a Northern perspective, such as at the Norwegian Joint Headquarters (NJHQ), located just outside the city.
"This provides us with a good framework for discussing security policy in the North."
"Estonia is a very close country, perhaps the most Nordic of the Baltic states. After Finland and Sweden joined NATO, the entire land area between us is in NATO. Therefore, I am concerned with understanding the large area that we share; we in Norway must understand the Baltics, the Baltic Sea, and its dynamic security policy. And they must understand the security policy dynamic in the Barents Sea and the Arctic."
The latter refers to the lack of evidence that a conflict would start in the Arctic. However, Eide sums up that the region could be pulled into a larger conflict started elsewhere. This is due to its strategic significance.
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The Nordics and Baltic closer together
The cooperation between the Nordics and the Baltics has strengthened significantly in the past years. The cooperation format is called Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8).
"The format has always been good, but the last time I served as foreign affairs minister (2012-2013), we talked about things that were happening far from us, and now we're talking about things that are happening here," Eide says and continues:
"After Sweden and Finland joined NATO, all NB8 countries are part of the alliance. We are geographically, politically, and security policy close. All are concerned with Ukraine and close to Russia. This brings us together."
Estonia's MFA Margus Tsahkna at the bilateral meeting in Bodø this week. (Photo: Hilde Bye)
Standing together
"We are in a very similar situation," agrees Estonia's MFA Tsahkna to HNN.
"Norway takes great responsibility in protecting NATO and Europe from the North. We do the same from the East. And this is clear; the situation is currently very tense," he adds.
The two ministers called the Ukrainian MFA Andrii Sybiha from Bodø after reports that Trump had suspended weapons support for the country.
"We asked what more we can do," he says and continues:
"We also received feedback that Ukraine is committed to working for peace, finding a path for cooperation, and resuming negotiations with the USA. However, Europe must also do more. We must support Ukraine militarily and financially. We must also strengthen our own military capabilities in NATO."
Tsahkna explains that Estonia plans to strengthen its defense budget to a whopping five percent of the GDP over the next two years.
"We must understand that Russia will remain a threat to Europe. Even if there is long-term peace in Ukraine, we must understand this. We must strengthen Ukraine's position and weaken Putin's position," he concludes.
