Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for NATO to “double down” on securing the Arctic region in the face of growing Russian threats. During a visit to British and Norwegian troops in northern Norway, Cooper emphasized the strategic importance of the Arctic and the need for a coordinated NATO response.
The Foreign Secretary warned that Russia’s Northern Fleet poses a significant threat to the UK, Western Europe, and North America, making the Arctic a critical gateway. To address this, Cooper proposed the establishment of a new NATO operation, dubbed “Arctic Sentry,” modeled after the alliance’s existing Baltic and Eastern security initiatives.
“The Arctic is the gateway for Russia’s Northern Fleet to be able to threaten the United Kingdom, to threaten Western Europe and Norway, to threaten the United States and Canada,” Cooper said. “So it’s a whole transatlantic security that depends on our Arctic security.”
The Foreign Secretary’s call for enhanced Arctic defence comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and its NATO allies over Greenland. While the US has expressed interest in acquiring the mineral-rich island, both Greenland’s leaders and Denmark, of which Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory, have rejected these demands.
However, Cooper stressed that the disagreement over Greenland should not distract from the more pressing security concerns in the region. “Where I think there is shared agreement is about this Arctic security, this broader threat, and the need, really, for all of our countries to come together as part of that NATO alliance,” she said.
Cooper’s Norwegian counterpart, Espen Barth Eide, welcomed the proposal for an “Arctic Sentry” operation, saying it would demonstrate a “serious commitment” to addressing the Russian threat in the high north. Eide also cautioned against allowing the Greenland dispute to divert attention from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which he described as the “issue number one these days” for transatlantic and European security.
The Foreign Secretary’s visit to northern Norway is part of a wider tour of Scandinavia, as the UK and its NATO allies seek to strengthen their collective response to the evolving security challenges in the Arctic region.
