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The United Nations’ mission in Mali on Monday called for the ”immediate and unconditional” release of the country’s president and prime minister, who were detained by the military.

The MINUSMA mission said on Twitter that those who hold the leaders will have to answer for their actions. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for calm and for Mali’s civilian leaders to be released.

”I am deeply concerned by news of detention of civilian leaders of the Malian transition,” Guterres said on Twitter. ”I call for calm & their unconditional release.”

The European Union and the African Union also condemned the arrests.[…]

Two senior officials, who declined to be named, told AFP that soldiers had taken Ndaw and Ouane to the Kati military camp on the outskirts of the capital Bamako. Their detentions followed a sensitive government reshuffle on Monday afternoon, which was designed to respond to growing criticism of the interim government. The military kept the strategic portfolios it controlled during the previous administration in the reshuffle. But two coup leaders — ex-defence minister Sadio Camara and ex-security minister Colonel Modibo Koné — were replaced.

The reshuffle also came at a time of growing political challenges in the capital Bamako, and pressure to stick to the deadline for promised reforms. […]

In an example of mounting unease, the opposition M5 movement — which spearheaded protests against Keïta in 2020 — this month urged dissolving the interim government and demanded a ”more legitimate” body. But the M5 is divided. Two members of the Union for the Republic and Democracy party, for example, were appointed interim ministers Monday. The party is part of the M5. Läs artikel

As of late, China has increased its engagement within the Arctic region. Natural resources, as well as new, trans-oceanic trade routes motivate Beijing to seek larger space for itself. As the region is effectively a closed one, China has to partner with regional states. So far Russia played this role, with two countries getting closer across the board due to common opposition to the US. Yet, increasingly China has looked to other players and its ambitions and independent exploration of the Arctic are sometimes at odds with Russian national interests. […]

Geographically, however, China is a less obvious player. Its closest territory is thousands of kilometers away from the generally agreed-upon perimeter in the Bering Strait. Nevertheless, China stepped into the region in 1925 with signing of the Spitsbergen Treaty, which attests to the sovereignty of Norway over the Archipelago of Spitsbergen and also gives equal rights for trade activities on the islands to all signed parties (as of today 46 signatories). Up until now, China traces the basis for its legitimate role in the Arctic affairs to the Treaty. […]

However, China’s active engagement is a more recent development, starting in 2013, when China became one of the 13 observer states of the Arctic Council. The Polar Silk Road – an integral part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – was introduced in 2017. Then in June 2018, Beijing announced plans to build its first 30,000-ton nuclear icebreaker, making China the second country (after Russia) to possess nuclear icebreakers. In the same year, China released a much anticipated white paper entitled “China’s Arctic Policy”, wherein it outlined its motivations, referring to itself as a “near-Arctic state.” Läs artikel

Mennesker klarer bare å ta inn over seg én katastrofe om gangen. Da er det ikke overraskende at de problematiske atombombenyhetene som forrige måned sivet ut fra Storbritannia så vidt ble viet oppmerksomhet i norske medier. Gitt Storbritannias påstander om at dets atomvåpen kontinuerlig avskrekker trusler på NATOs vegne, krever likevel Storbritannias atomvåpenpolitikk internasjonal oppmerksomhet.

Kort sagt, etter å ha gjennomført en større utredning av sine væpnede styrker under koronakrisen, lanserte Storbritannia sin strategi for det 21. århundret. Med tanke på det økonomiske sjokket som fulgte pandemien, landets svulmende gjeld (som nærmet seg 100 prosent av BNP ved siste utregning) og nivåene av barnefattigdom (som angår 30 prosent av barna), ville observatører muligens forventet at Storbritannia begynte å moderere villfarelsene om sin egen storhet. Spesielt må de 165 milliarder pundene Storbritannia har planlagt å bruke på vedlikehold av ubåter med atomvåpen, et tiltak Storbritannia hevder vil «garantere» for landets sikkerhet, men som aldri klarte å avskrekke Argentina. I stedet for å moderere villfarelsene, vedtok Boris Johnsons regjering at dette var et passende tidspunkt å oppgradere landets atomarsenal fra 180 atomvåpen til 260. Eller, rettere sagt, å kunngjøre at de ville heve den selvpålagte grensen, for, om ønskelig, å kunne øke arsenalet med 80. Läs artikel

Baltops är en årligen återkommande marinövning. Årets upplaga genomförs mellan 7-18 juni i Skagerack, södra och sydöstra Östersjön samt på strandnära landövningsområden i Tyskland, Polen och de baltiska staterna.

Baltops 50 involverar stabspersonal, landstigningstrupper, ytstridsfartyg, ubåtar, stödfartyg, helikoptrar och flygplan från Belgien, Kanada, Danmark, Estland, Finland, Frankrike, Lettland, Litauen, Nederländerna, Norge, Polen, Storbritannien, Portugal, Rumänien, Tyskland, USA och Nato.

Sverige deltar med en ubåt från Första ubåtsflottiljen, stabspersonal och en Visbykorvett från Tredje sjöstridsflottiljen, nationell övningsledning från Sjöstridsskolan, personal ur Marinbasen samt svenskkontrollerat luftrum i södra Östersjön. Läs pressmeddelande

NATO will continue to train Afghan special forces outside the country after it winds up 18 years of security work in conflict-torn Afghanistan in coming months, the military organization’s top civilian official said Friday.

“As we end our military presence, we are opening a new chapter,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Paris after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron that were focused on preparations for a summit of the alliance’s leaders next month.

Stoltenberg said NATO’s revised role would involve giving “advice and capacity-building support to Afghan security institutions, as well as continued financial support.” He said NATO also plans “to provide military education and training outside Afghanistan, focusing on Special Operations Forces.” It was not immediately clear where the training will take place. Läs artikel

Den geopolitiske rivaliseringen i Arktis har skutt fart de siste årene. Bak den sikkerhetspolitiske retorikken skjuler det seg alltid en kamp om ressurser. I denne sammenheng snakker vi om fiskeressurser, turisme og olje på Svalbard.

Her er det Norge mot røkla.

Alle stormaktene inkludert EU vil ha tilgang til ressurser, være seg fisk eller olje, som Norge vil ha eksklusivt innenfor sonen som ingen andre enn Norge anerkjenner; kanskje aller best symbolisert ved striden mellom EU og Norge om krabbefiske.

Norsk Høyesterett slo i 2019 fast at Norge har full rett til å nekte EU tilgang til snøkrabbe innenfor den selverklærte norske vernesonen. EU mener at Norge bryter Svalbardtraktaten fordi Norge forskjellsbehandler norske og utenlandske fartøyer. Konflikten mellom EU og Norge om forvaltning av fiskeriressursene rundt Svalbard tok en dramatisk vending i februar 2021 da EU etter Storbritannias «Brexit» ensidig fastsatte en egen torskekvote utenfor Svalbard da den eksisterende fiskerieavtale mellom Norge og EU ikke lenger gjelder etter Storbritannias utmeldelse. Läs artikkel

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Wednesday in a sideline meeting in Iceland. […]

The guiding motto of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken going into his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Iceland should be “first, do no harm.” Because, as we know, the single most important purpose of this meeting is to make possible a summit between President Biden and President Putin in Europe next month. […]

If it is true as reported that the Biden administration is reducing U.S. opposition to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, this will be an excellent practical step to begin laying the foundation of a new U.S.-Russian relationship, and the start of cooperation on issues where theirinterests coincide. Läs artikel