Stoltenberg: Russia a Strategic Challenge for NATO in Arctic

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg near a Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft during their visit to CFB Cold Lake in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada August 26, 2022. Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg near a Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft during their visit to CFB Cold Lake in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada August 26, 2022. Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Stoltenberg: Russia a Strategic Challenge for NATO in Arctic

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg near a Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft during their visit to CFB Cold Lake in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada August 26, 2022. Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg near a Canadian Forces CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft during their visit to CFB Cold Lake in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada August 26, 2022. Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS

Russia's capabilities in the North are a strategic challenge for NATO, its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, welcoming Canada's recently announced investments in North American defense systems after making his first visit to the Canadian arctic.

"The importance of the high North is increasing for NATO and for Canada because we see a significant Russian military buildup," Stoltenberg said, standing alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Cold Lake, Alberta.

Russia has reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military sites in the arctic, using the region to test new weapons systems, Stoltenberg said. He also warned that Russia and China were forming a strategic arctic partnership that challenged NATO's values and interests.

Canada has been criticized for spending too little on its military capabilities as a NATO member. But after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada said in June it would invest C$4.9 billion ($3.8 billion) over the next six years to modernize NORAD, the joint US-Canadian North American defense organization.

"The geopolitical situation has shifted over the past months, which is why understanding that Russia is an increasing concern to all of us makes it timely for us to share with the Secretary General and with NATO all the things that Canada is doing through NORAD," Reuters quoted Trudeau as saying.

Trudeau and Stoltenberg visited Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, on Thursday, a hamlet above the Arctic Circle where a radar outpost for air defense is located. It is part of NORAD's North Warning System, which experts say is in dire need of upgrades.

The over six-decade-old system detects security threats to North America, and its early-warning radar for the polar region dates back to the late 1980s.

Both Trudeau and Stoltenberg agreed climate change is making the arctic more accessible for economic and military activities, increasing security concerns.



Iran Nuclear Tensions Escalate: Tehran Warns against 'Military Adventurism', China Urges Dialogue

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
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Iran Nuclear Tensions Escalate: Tehran Warns against 'Military Adventurism', China Urges Dialogue

A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)
A Planet Labs satellite image of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, located 120 kilometers north of Isfahan, taken last April. (AP)

China has urged a return to negotiations to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis as Washington called on Tehran to halt its nuclear escalation and missile activities. Meanwhile, Iran lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council, warning of swift retaliation against any US or Israeli attack.

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday his threat of an unprecedented strike on Iran if it refuses his offer for talks. According to sources, Trump sent a message to the Iranian leadership in early March, giving Tehran a two-month deadline to respond.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed the possibility of an external attack on Monday but warned the US of a strong response if it took military action. He stated that if Washington attempted to incite unrest within Iran, “the Iranian people would respond as they have in the past”.

Later, Iran formally complained to the UN Security Council about what it described as “reckless and hostile” US statements.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote that Tehran “strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests.”

China, for its part, criticized Washington’s threats of military force against Iran’s nuclear program. According to the Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged the US to return to the negotiating table and demonstrate goodwill, stressing that sanctions and military threats will not lead to a resolution.

He further emphasized that Beijing believes the only effective solution is a political and diplomatic one and urged a renewed consensus within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani rejected the threats against Iran. In a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, he expressed Iraq’s commitment to Iran’s security and stability.

Iraq’s official news agency reported that Sudani emphasized coordination among Islamic nations to confront shared challenges and threats, fostering security and stability.

In response to Khamenei’s speech, the Trump administration reiterated its determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. While reaffirming its preference for diplomacy, it warned that other options remain on the table.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration will not allow a nuclear Iran.

She accused Iran of being a key state sponsor of terrorism, supporting groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda. She also pointed to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US designates as a terrorist organization.

Referencing Trump’s message to Iran, she outlined Washington’s demands: Tehran must halt its nuclear escalation, end its ballistic missile program, dismantle its regional proxy networks, cease aggressive activities, stop repressing its own people, and abandon the destabilizing actions of the IRGC.