Canadian, German and Norwegian leaders are meeting in the Norwegian Arctic on Friday to discuss the region’s fragile security situation, against the backdrop of a large NATO exercise.”We will… not allow Moscow to test NATO on its eastern flank and here in the north,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a press conference at the rocket launch site Andoya Space, above the Arctic Circle.”Together with Norway, Canada, and Germany, we are sending a message today.
We are on alert here in the far north as part of NATO,” Merz said, speaking alongside Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Store.Merz and Store are due to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Bardufoss, a military town located above the Arctic Circle where NATO’s Cold Response exercise is taking place.The High North has long been shielded by the concept of “Arctic exceptionalism” — the notion that the region had its own set of unwritten rules of cooperation which were immune to geopolitical rivalries.But regional dynamics between Russia and the West have deteriorated since the start of the war in Ukraine and due to US President Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland.”In a turbulent time with a backdrop of demanding and shifting security policy, partners, friends, and allies must stand together,” Store stressed on Friday.Around 25,000 troops from 14 countries including the United States are taking part in the Cold Response exercise in Norway, held every two years and aimed at training together in extreme winter conditions.This year’s gathering has been impacted by the war in the Middle East, with France redirecting its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the eastern Mediterranean.After visiting troops on Friday, the three leaders are due to hold a press conference around 3:30 pm (1430 GMT).NATO chief Mark Rutte was also scheduled to visit Cold Response on March 18. – Russian flights -Faced with NATO’s manoeuvres in its vicinity, Russia has asserted its presence.The Norwegian military said Wednesday it had scrambled F-35 fighter jets on two consecutive days this week to intercept Russian military aircraft in international airspace north of Norway.”There is nothing unusual or dramatic about such Russian flights, and Russia has the right to conduct these missions,” the military said.”The Russian flights are most likely intended to gather situational awareness of allied activity in connection with Cold Response 2026,” it added.Moscow has also announced that it would be conducting missile tests near the Norwegian waters of the Barents Sea, as it has done during previous exercises.Warming three to four times faster than the planet, the Arctic is attracting increasing interest as the melting sea ice opens up greater access to resources — such as oil and gas, minerals and fish — as well as new shipping routes.Prior to visiting the troops, Merz and Store visited the spaceport Andoya Space, where German group Isar Aerospace hopes to soon launch another of its Spectrum rockets.The two announced the establishment of a working group to explore a bilateral partnership in areas where Europe is seeking to strengthen its autonomy, such as space-based surveillance, satellite communications and rocket launches.”We have relied on other nations for far too long.
Now it’s Europe’s moment,” Merz said.”Norwegian and German space industries complement each other. Germany has a broad industrial base, Norway has technology and established research communities, and we have important geography,” Store said.
Fri, 13 Mar 2026 11:41:42 GMT
