Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced plans for the kingdom to allocate about $ 221 million to strengthen defense in the Arctic.
“We are building up efforts, and I know that the Americans are very happy about this,” the head of the Danish Cabinet said in an interview with Berlingske.
According to Frederiksen, the Arctic region is “increasingly important in terms of security policy.”
According to Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior fellow at the Center for European Studies at the IMEMO RAS, a similar statement from Denmark indicates that the kingdom is “in line with the North Atlantic Alliance”, which plans to strengthen its presence in the Arctic.
“Denmark was concerned about this issue only because it is a common goal within NATO and Danish-American relations to confront Russia in the Arctic region , ” the analyst said.
Recall, earlier NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance needs to ensure a presence in the Arctic and invest in Arctic military equipment. The reason for such measures Stoltenberg called the growing presence of the Russian side in the region.
In addition, analysts explain the desire of Denmark to allocate funds to strengthen the defense of the Arctic with the desire of Copenhagen to demonstrate to Donald Trump the fulfillment of his financial obligations to NATO. Earlier during the Alliance summit in London, the American leader demanded that the countries of the bloc increase contributions to 4% of GDP. According to him, the share of 2% is extremely low.
In August, Trump accused Denmark of providing the kingdom with insufficient funding for the needs of the North Atlantic Alliance.
“Please note that Denmark spends only 1.35% of GDP on NATO. They are a rich country, they should spend 2%, ”the US president wrote on his Twitter page.
As HSE professor Dmitry Evstafyev said in an interview with RT, the Danish promise to increase spending on defense in the Arctic is a reaction to raising the degree of rhetoric on the topic of US financial requirements for NATO countries.
- Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen
- © Ritzau Scanpix / Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS
“Now Trump requires alliance states to allocate 4% to maintain defense capabilities. And given that Denmark had not previously complied with the previous “norm” of the White House head at 2%, now Copenhagen wants to make excuses to NATO. In this way, the kingdom seeks to demonstrate that it has heard Trump’s call and understands the development priorities of the alliance for the next 20 years, ”the expert stated.
In addition, making such statements, Denmark hopes to defend Greenland after it became known about Washington’s intentions to buy the island, analysts say.
Recall that in mid-August, Trump said that he was interested in buying the Danish island of Greenland "from a strategic point of view."
Frederiksen, in turn, called this idea of the US president "absurd."
“Kim Kielsen (Prime Minister of Greenland. - RT ) made it clear that Greenland is not for sale, so all conversations ceased. On the other hand, there are many other issues that we would like to discuss with the US president. For example, increased cooperation in the Arctic, ”the Danish television channel DR quotes the words of the Danish Prime Minister.
After this, Trump announced that he postponed the meeting with the Danish Prime Minister because of her unwillingness to talk about the sale of Greenland to the United States.
“Denmark does not want to lose Greenland due to the fact that she liked Trump. The head of the White House, when he came forward with the initiative to transfer this territory to the USA, put forward an argument about the lack of defense capability in Denmark, which the kingdom is now trying to refute, ”said Dmitry Evstafiev.
A similar opinion is shared by the head of the sector of regional problems and conflicts IMEMO named after EM Primakova RAS Konstantin Voronov. According to him, Denmark values this territory and does not want to give Washington reasons to take it.
“Greenland is a Danish self-governing territory. This is the largest island in the world where various minerals are located and oil fields are being developed, ”the analyst explained in a conversation with RT.
Arctic trend of NATO
According to experts, Denmark is moving in the wake of NATO to increase its presence in the Arctic. At the same time, the bloc states that the interests of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance are allegedly threatened by the presence of Russia in the region.
So, in August, Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan said the need to create additional facilities in the region, including a new Navy base. According to the senator, the United States does not want Russia to control the Northern Sea Route.
"Vladimir Putin called the transport routes in the Arctic a new Suez Canal, which Russia will control ... I think we do not want Russia to control them," Sullivan said.
Recall that the Northern Sea Route lies in the economic zone of the Russian Federation.
In early July, similar theses were formulated in a report by Chatham House, a British think tank in international relations. According to the document, Russia should not consider that it can continue to freely develop the Arctic. It is also noted that the West and the North Atlantic Alliance should begin to achieve parity in the region.
In addition, in June, NATO Secretary General during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Iceland, Catherine Jacobsdouttir, said that Russia is increasing its military presence in the Arctic and the alliance should respond to this, "continuing to work to maintain low tension in the Far North."
Earlier in May, former US National Security Advisor to the President, John Bolton, urged graduates from the United States Coast Guard Academy to “challenge” Russia's growing military influence in the Arctic.
Later, in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such statements were called "ridiculous, absurd and unfounded." This was stated by Ambassador on special instructions of the Russian Foreign Ministry on issues of international cooperation in the Arctic Nikolai Korchunov. According to him, the US line in this region is aimed at transforming the Arctic zone into a "promising theater of operations."
Recall that at the beginning of this year, Richard Spencer, who served as US Secretary of the Navy, announced the intention of the American side to put Adak base in Alaska on alert, which Washington had previously used to monitor Soviet submarines. This facility was closed back in 1997. In March, the US Marine Corps conducted exercises in extreme climatic conditions.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
- © Francois Lenoir / Reuters
In May, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the American side would strengthen its military presence in the Arctic. He announced this on the sidelines of the Arctic Forum, which was held in Finland.
“We conduct military exercises, increase the presence of our forces, and restore our fleet of icebreakers,” said Pompeo.
According to him, the United States "is actively in contact with allies on the situation in the Arctic."
Experts agree that the accusations against Russia by NATO and the United States are unfounded.
“All that is threatened by the actions of the Russian Federation on its territory in the Arctic is the freedom of hands of the USA and NATO in this region. For example, this refers to access to the region’s resources or its logistics routes. It’s no secret that after the collapse of the USSR, Washington proceeded from the fact that there are simply no restrictions on their military and economic activities in the Arctic, so now the American side is extremely sensitive to any actions of Russia in this region, ”said Dmitry Evstafiev.
Konstantin Voronov, in turn, emphasized that Russia has every right to develop its defense in the Arctic.
“Half of the Arctic sector falls precisely on Russian territories. The Russian Federation does not threaten anyone by strengthening its defense capabilities there, it only protects its lands, ”the analyst said.
According to Yevstafyev, the Arctic is one of the spaces, the relevance of ownership of which will increase sharply after 2030, and NATO understands this.
“The world is moving from globalization to spatial competition. If earlier the North Atlantic Alliance proceeded from the fact that it could solve all its problems in the Arctic through political manipulation, today the bloc is aware of the inefficiency of such a strategy. Accordingly, something new is needed, in particular, the opportunity to deploy armed forces and appropriate equipment in the region, ”the analyst concluded.
As Dmitry Evstafiev notes, focusing the attention of the international community on the topic of the Arctic, Washington is trying to put pressure on its allies.
“The United States itself does not yet have the military-force potential in this region. However, they are already creating an organizational basis in order to achieve uncontrolled access to this region by anyone, ”the expert said.
- US President Donald Trump with the U.S. military
- © Carlos Barria / Reuters
Not appreciated
According to Vladimir Olenchenko, the amount of $ 221 million, which Denmark intends to allocate, will not be sufficient to somehow significantly strengthen the defense of the Arctic.
“The Arctic region is frost, snow, there must be special expensive equipment, appropriate equipment of the armed forces. All this is an extremely capital-intensive business for which Copenhagen does not have enough funds. I do not think that the Danes will be able to sweep widely in this sense. And taking into account the scale of NATO and American appetites, this amount will be quickly mastered, ”the expert said.
At the same time, Olenchenko admits that for $ 221 million the Danes can create a military unit or deepen one of the ports in the region.
However, despite Denmark’s willingness to allocate money to defend the Arctic, NATO and the United States are unlikely to appreciate such a move.
“The fact is that if any countries of the alliance begin to show compliance, then the USA against them will increase their pressure even more, increase the number of claims and claims. And in this case, $ 221 million from Denmark is unlikely to satisfy them. Trump will demand even more money, ”the expert concluded.