US Military Aircraft Not Allowed to Land in Svalbard
The US regularly operates with P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in the High North. The US regularly operates with P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in the High North. The request to land in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, may have concerned such an aircraft. The photo is from Evenes Air Station in Nordland county, Northern Norway. (Photo: Torbjørn Kjosvold / the Norwegian Armed Forces)
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected a US application to land a military aircraft at Svalbard airport this summer. "Norwegian authorities apply a very restrictive practice to diplomatic clearance of foreign military aircraft and ships," says the ministry's spokesperson.
In July, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected an American request to land a military aircraft at Svalbard Airport in Longyearbyen. This was reported by Svalbardposten on Tuesday.
The ministry found that such a visit is incompatible with the Norwegian Svalbard policy.
"The application was declined because the Norwegian authorities have a very restrictive practice regarding diplomatic clearance of foreign military aircraft and ships," said Cecilie Skjennald, spokesperson at the ministry, to Svalbardposten.
Geir Ulfstein, Professor Emeritus of international law at the University of Oslo, also comments on the case in the newspaper:
"The Svalbard Treaty states that Svalbard shall not be used for military purposes. The Norwegian interpretation of this is that it is not forbidden to land here, but the political position is that it is not desirable. Such an incident would undoubtedly lead to international reactions," says Ulfstein, referring to Russia in particular.
The US embassy in Oslo maintains that the application for landing in Svalbard was due to an error that was not caught in the internal supervision process.
