"After Greenland, Svalbard"...Arctic Tensions Over Trump, Putin Threat

The European version of Politico diagnosed that the fate of the nearby Svalbard Islands cannot be relieved as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump entered the Arctic hegemony competition by coveting Danish Greenland.

Politico said the race for control of the Arctic's vast mineral resources and major waterways is intensifying, and Trump's expression of military action to seize Greenland was part of that.

In particular, Politico pointed out that Russia, which is becoming increasingly belligerent, is seen as a contender for Arctic hegemony.

Representative Mike Waltz, who was nominated as national security adviser to the second Trump administration on the 8th, said in a Fox News interview, "This is not just about Greenland, it's about the Arctic. Russia is about to become king of the Arctic," he said, acknowledging that the U.S. ambition for Greenland is aimed at deterring Russia's ambitions.

Walz also stressed the strategic importance of the Arctic, saying, "This is about important minerals, natural resources, oil and gas, our national security."

In response to Trump's willingness to incorporate Greenland, Russia also said, "We are closely watching the development of the situation. The Arctic region is related to our national interests and strategic interests."

Politico said other countries in the Arctic are also on the lookout for the Greenlandic ambitions of the U.S.

Representatively, the media predicted that Svalbard, which is adjacent to Greenland, could attract Russian President Vladimir Putin's attention.

Svalbard, located halfway between Norway and the North Pole, is Norwegian territory, but it has special international status under the Treaty of Svalbard signed in 1920.

While recognizing Norway's sovereignty over the archipelago, the treaty grants all treaty members equal rights to economic activity, allowing them to use natural resources.

Forty-eight countries, including the United States, Russia and Japan, have signed the treaty, but only Russia and Norway actually use the economic bloc, Politico said.

Svalbard remains a visa-free and demilitarized zone under the influence of the treaty.

With about 2,500 inhabitants, Russians who have lived since the Soviet era live in Barentsburg, the archipelago's second-largest city.

The Svalbard is a strategically important place for Moscow, as it sits along a sea route that Russia's northern fleet must pass to get to the Atlantic Ocean.

Because of this, there is also a lot of tension between Norway and Russia over the Svalbard Islands.

When Norway blocked Russian ships bound for Barentsburg in 2022 under economic sanctions targeting Moscow, the Kremlin fumed, accusing Norway of committing human rights violations.

Russia announced last year that it would open a new scientific center for polar research, following the installation of Soviet flags in Russian villages settled in Barentsburg and Pyramiden.

Arctic experts have warned that Trump's obsession with occupying Greenland could spur his rivals to take imperial action.

Andreas Oesthagen, a researcher at Norway's Friedshof Nansen Institute in Oslo, told Politico that Trump's comments could provoke Russia or China so that "the use of military force in other countries in the pursuit of national interests can be considered a legitimate means in international relations."

"We should be more concerned about other targets, such as the Finnish border and the Svalbard Islands, than Greenland, which is quite far from Russia. I think they are more vulnerable than Greenland itself," he said.

"I am concerned that Svalbard could be used as a bargaining chip with regard to Arctic security," said Tore Vig, a political science professor at the University of Oslo. "If the United States does not respect international treaties (with the occupation of Greenland), everything could be in danger."

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Garstør dismissed concerns about the archipelago's potential vulnerability in an interview with public broadcaster NRK on the 9th, saying, "Svalbard is Norway, it is safe."

However, in response to Trump's remarks, which were the source of such concerns, he criticized, "It is not right to propose to take territory under the sovereignty of other countries."