Members of national and regional parliaments of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia as well as Sápmi gathered last week in Haparanda, Sweden, to discuss transport infrastructure and connectivity in the Barents region. […]

In regards to the Barents region, cooperation with Russia has proved to be one of the most fruitful and concrete in addressing cross-border mobility issues.

Olga Epifanova, the Deputy Chair of the State Duma, noted that “integrated international transport corridor is the key to the complex development of the Northern Sea Route and the Barents region”. Keeping in mind that the NSR is expected to cater for 80 billion tons of cargos by 2024, coordinated operation of the cross-border transport network in the North becomes especially crucial for the future of the global market. She stressed that Russia is now working on the Murmansk transport nexus and “will do everything to attract as many partners as possible” in its infrastructure-building projects along the NSR. […]

The prospects of the railway traffic along the so-called New Silk Road with the cities of Xi’an, Kouvola, Haparanda and Narvik as main nexus points sparked particular interest in the twin-city of Haparanda/Tornio. Just as for China and its underdeveloped western region, the Swedish county of Norrbotten sees enormous opportunities for both regional and global development in this initiative.   Läs artikel

Over 3,000 troops and 200 vehicles from 12 NATO Allies¹ are taking part in exercise Silver Arrow in Latvia this week. The multinational exercise, which wraps up on 3 October, provides an opportunity for forces to enhance their readiness, and train with one of four NATO battlegroups in the region.

NATO’s battlegroup in Latvia is composed of around 1,000 troops from Albania, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Exercise Silver Arrow is designed to test the battlegroup’s ability to plan and conduct operations with the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade. Läs artikel

Jacques Chirac, who died on Thursday at the age of 86, was a charismatic giant of French post-war politics whose popular touch gave him enduring appeal to voters, even after a conviction for graft.

Twice elected head of state in 1995 and 2002, his 12 years in the Elysee Palace made him France’s second longest-serving president after his Socialist predecessor Francois Mitterrand.

On the international stage, Chirac helped spearhead opposition to the US-lead invasion of Iraq in 2003 — a stance which angered the United States.

What are the founding principles of U.S. foreign policy? Was the U.S. ever isolationist as mainstream diplomatic history claims? And what about Donald Trump’s foreign policy? Is he a normal foreign policy president? Is he in favor of U.S. global expansion? Is China emerging as the new global empire? Andrew Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University and now president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft tackles the above questions in the interview below. […]

Does Donald Trump have a consistent foreign policy? Is there such a thing as a Trump Doctrine? No, he does not. Understand that the very notion of principles is alien to Trump’s make-up. He is, therefore, incapable acting in a consistent fashion pursuant to some larger sense of purpose. So he makes things up as he goes along. He specializes in showmanship not statecraft. Trump has said repeatedly that he is not in favor of wars, yet he is clearly a militarist and the military budget continues to receive large yearly increases (the United States spends more than twice as much on its military as China and Russia combined), although, as you have pointed out before, the US has yet to win its first war in the twentieth-first century. Can you shed some light into what’s going on here? I wouldn’t call him a militarist. Again, militarists actually believe something. They fancy that through war, a nation can fulfill its destiny and a people can purify themselves while cultivating an identifiable set of virtues. Trump believes no such things. Läs artikel

[…] Relations between nuclear-armed States are mired in mistrust. Dangerous rhetoric about the utility of nuclear weapons is on the rise. A qualitative nuclear arms race is underway. The painstakingly constructed arms control regime is fraying. Divisions over the pace and scale of disarmament are growing.

I worry that we are slipping back into bad habits that will once again hold the entire world hostage to the threat of nuclear annihilation. With last month’s expiration of the landmark Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty – or INF, the world lost an invaluable brake on nuclear war. I strongly encourage the United States and the Russian Federation to extend the so-called ’New Start’ agreement to provide stability and the time to negotiate future arms control measures. I also repeat my call on all State Parties to work together for a successful 2020 Review of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. […]

I also call on those States possessing nuclear weapons to engage in the urgent dialogue needed to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and agree on near-term practical steps in nuclear disarmament. Nuclear weapons present an unacceptable danger to humanity. The only real way to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons is to eliminate nuclear weapons. Läs talet

Trumps flåsete utspill om å kjøpe Grønland er en distraksjon fra en president under press. Men det er også et tegn på det strategiske kappløpet som foregår i Arktis, hvor Norge står midt mellom stormaktene.[…]

Der hvor Trump og andre statsledere kan velge å bruke makt og konkurranse som virkemidler i sin utenrikspolitikk, har ikke Norge noe valg. Som et lite land er vi avhengige av internasjonalt samarbeid og at folkeretten respekteres. Men Norge kan bruke sin posisjon – slik det ble gjort da det regionale samarbeidsforumet Arktisk Råd valgte Tromsø som lokasjon for sitt sekretariat – til å fremme løsninger som ganger oss i Arktis. Uavhengig av hvem som styrer skuta, må Norges politikere fortsette å søke pragmatisk samarbeid i nordområdene der det er mulig. Kanskje burde Norge bruke sin spesielle posisjon ytterligere for å fremme nye arenaer for dialog og roe gemyttene, neste gang en president kommer med flåsete utspill om nordområdene? Läs artikel

Norge planerar inte att likt flera andra USA-allierade blockera kinesiska Huawei från utbyggnad av 5G-nätverk, enligt uttalanden från norska digitaliseringsministern Nikolai Astrup, rapporterar Reuters.

Beskedet kan få implikationer på underrättelsesamarbeten inom Nato, noterar nyhetsbyrån.

USA har stött på mot de nordiska länderna om att utesluta Huawei från utbyggnaden av nästa generations höghastighetstelekom, så kallad 5G. Huawei är Ericssons och Nokias främsta konkurrent på området.

”Vi har enbra dialog med (teleoperatörs-)bolagen om säkerhet och när det kommer till bolagen själva att välja leverantörer. Vi har inga förbud mot någon leverantör i Norge”, sade Nikolai Astrup.

Trots de amerikanska utfästelserna om att underrättelsesamarbeten med länder där Huawei har utrustning i nätverk kommer avbrytas har tidigare finländska Elisa tecknat kontrakt med Huawei. Finland är dock olikt Norge inte medlem i Nato. Läs artikel

The Gulf region is “on the edge of collapse”, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told world leaders on Wednesday at the annual high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly, saying that “a single blunder can fuel a big fire”. […]

Further, as he told the Assembly that Iran would not negotiate on the issue of its nuclear program as long as sanctions remain in place.

“Our response to any negotiation under sanctions is negative,” he said.

Moreover, he continued, “we shall not tolerate the provocative intervention of foreigners”, saying “we shall respond decisively and strongly to any sort of transgression to and violation of our security and territorial integrity”. […]

“I should like to invite all the countries directly affected by the developments in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the Coalition for Hope meaning Hormuz Peace Endeavor,” stated President Rouhani.

He explained the Coalition’s goal as one of promoting “peace, stability, progress and welfare” for all the residents of the region and enhancing mutual understanding and friendly relations among them. According to Mr. Rouhani, the initiative includes “various venues for cooperation”, such as the collective supply of energy security, freedom of navigation and free transfer of oil and other resources to and from the Strait of Hormuz and beyond.

The Coalition is based on principles, such as compliance with UN goals and principles, mutual respect, dialog and understanding, and, most importantly, the “two fundamental principles of non-aggression and non-interference in the domestic affairs of each other,” he said. Läs artikel

[…] Russiske marinefartøyer fra Nordflåten, herunder to landgangsfartøyer, har deltatt i øvelsesaktiviteten. Også det russiske luftvernsystemet S-400 skal være forflyttet til Victoria-øya, så langt vest som mulig mellom Svalbard og Frans Josefs land, for at Nordflåten skal kunne utøve kontroll over så store deler av luftrommet over Svalbard som mulig.

De russiske styrkene har også øvd på å kunne kutte sambandskablene mellom fastlands-Norge og Svalbard. Fartøyer som har kapasitet til å gjennomføre denne type operasjoner deltok i øvelsen, opplyser allierte forsvarskilder.

Ifølge disse kildene skal Svalbard satelittstasjon (Svalsat) ha vært et særskilt øvingsmål for de russiske styrkene, samt å kunne jamme eller på annen måte ta ut telekommunikasjon til og fra Svalbard. […]

Russiske spesialstyrker deltok på øvelsen, der minst en eller flere spesialubåter av typen P-650 «Midget» ble benyttet. Disse ubåtene er på bare 720 tonn, er 55 meter lange og 6,4 meter brede. Ubåtene er spesialdesignet for blant annet skjult innsetting av spesialstyrker, eksempelvis på Svalbard.

Dette vil kunne representere en første bølge fra russisk side i et reelt scenario, med lav militær signatur og der det vil kunne være vanskelig å dokumentere at det er Russland som står bak før det er for sent. Läs artikel