NATO faces security ‘test’ in Arctic, Carney and Rutte say at Davos meeting – National
Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte agreed that the transatlantic military alliance is facing “tests” that require reassurance of security in the Arctic, Carney’s office said after the two leaders met on Wednesday.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which has been canceled by the US president Mr. Donald Trump who wants to take Greenland from Denmark, in cooperation with NATO.
“Prime Minister Carney and Secretary General Rutte reaffirmed their commitment to both the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark, including Greenland,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. “They stressed that decisions about the future of Greenland must be taken by Greenland and Denmark.
“Leaders recognized the test facing the NATO Alliance and stressed that the first response to that test must be to ensure Arctic security, including accelerating new investments in the Alliance’s northwestern region.”
The study said Carney highlighted “huge investments to strengthen Canada’s Arctic sovereignty,” including a year-round military presence in the Far North and over-the-horizon radar to detect incoming threats.
“The Prime Minister noted Canada’s goal of quadrupling defense spending over the next decade,” it added.
Speaking to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, Carney said Canada is on track to double its defense spending by 2030.
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“We are working with our NATO partners, including the Nordic-Baltic Eight, to continue to protect the northern and western flanks of this alliance, including Canada’s unprecedented investment in over-the-horizon radar, submarines, aircraft, and ground boots – snow boots,” he said.
NATO partners agreed last summer on new defense spending of five percent of GDP, including 3.5 percent on primary military spending, a commitment pushed by Trump.
In his speech in Davos on Wednesday, Trump emphasized his desire to acquire Greenland for US national security purposes – despite the fact that the area is already under NATO protection and the US currently has the ability to increase its military presence under a 1951 agreement with Denmark.
However, Trump said he does not want to take Greenland by military force.
“I will not use force,” he told the crowd. “All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.
“That’s our field.”
Trump’s push for Greenland has raised questions about whether Canada can continue to rely on the US as a stable ally in Arctic security.
However, many defense experts have warned that it would be unwise for Canada to try to go it alone or eliminate US military cooperation with Europe.
Trump’s Davos speech also repeatedly criticized NATO and questioned its effectiveness, including whether the alliance would help the US in the event of an attack.
The last time NATO’s Article 5 was invoked was after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which prompted countries, including Canada and Denmark, to respond with other NATO allies and led to the deployment to Afghanistan that cost 158 Canadian and 44 Danish lives.
Rutte on Wednesday said he would not comment publicly on the rift between the US and its European allies over Trump’s demands for Greenland.
“You can be assured that I am fixing this issue behind the scenes, but I can’t do it publicly,” Rutte said during the WEF talks.
“President Trump and other leaders are right. We have to do more there. We have to protect the Arctic against Russian and Chinese influence,” he said. “We are working on that, making sure that together we will protect the Arctic region.”
Rutte also warned NATO allies not to let the Greenland issue derail efforts to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression, calling that war “a top priority.”
The Prime Minister’s Office said Carney and Rutte discussed ongoing peace talks during their meeting and “underscored the importance of coalition support in promoting peace and security in Ukraine.”
-Files from Reuters
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