RT Russian State Press April 20, 2015:
‘Inexplicable and absurd’ – Russia blasts Norway’s overreaction on official Svalbard visit
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, foreground right, in the town of Barentsburg on the Svalbard archipelago. (RIA Novosti/Sergey Mamontov)
Like Ukraine’s Crimea, this territory of Norway houses a community of Russians. Although visa-free visits are possible under agreements with Russia, Svalbard Minister is on a sanctions list introduced by western nations in 2014 over Russia’s reunification with the Republic of Crimea.
“The use of the [Svalbard] archipelago in the North Pole-2015 expedition was motivated by purely logistical reasons and the air traffic safety demands in high altitudes. These circumstances appear to be natural and we thought we could count on its understanding by the Norwegian side in the spirit of partnership in the Arctic that Norway has always demonstrated,”
Given the recent actions by Russia to annex parts of Ukraine, Norway ahs good reason to be upset. Dmitry Rogozin is Russian deputy PM in charge of the defense industry and the archipelago’s location makes it critical to Russia’s ability to project its Navy into the North Atlantic. In April 2014, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia was creating a new united fleet of new generation combat ships and submarines permanently deployed to the Arctic. In addition Russia has claimed huge parts of the Artic as a source of oil, and Svalbard impacts Russia’s launch of North Pole-2015 – a new scientific drifting station designed to maintain months-long presence of Russian researchers in the Arctic Ocean.
Rogozin tweeted in reacted to Norway’s latest actions with several tweet posts. One said: “One should not throw punches after the fight is over” and another suggested, “They are simply jealous because we were swimming on the North Pole.”
“The Arctic is Russian Mecca,” the official wrote as a caption to a group photo made on the North Pole.
Of course, China is pursuing a similar project in the South China Sea, annexing huge areas of the seas off of Vietnam and Philippines in the name of .. well in the name of the guy with the biggest stick wins.
IMPERIALISM