Paul Goble
Staunton, Nov. 18 – Yury Trutnyev, deputy prime minister, presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District and chair of Russian government commission on Svalbard, says that none of Russia’s rights on that Norwegian archipelago must be allowed to lapse and that Moscow will do whatever it has to in order to ensure that none are.
Trutnev, who a few months ago was shooting at Ukrainians as part of Putin’s expanded war in Ukraine, thus reaffirmed yet another Russian red line on Svalbard, echoling those of a year ago rather than being something new (thebarentsobserver.com/news/putins-envoy-who-recently-fought-in-ukraine-says-russia-will-stand-up-for-its-rights-on-svalbard/440733).
The Russian deputy prime minister and his colleagues said that Moscow was especially concerned about its ability to revive and develop Russian coal mining on Svalbard. For a listing of recent Russian actions on that Norwegian archipelago, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/11/new-russian-office-on-svalbard-headed.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/05/russian-diplomat-changes-date-of-ve.html.
And for a discussion of Svalbard as a possible target of Russian military expansionism, see role on Svalbard, efforts to which the new office is likely to make both overt and covert contributions, see jamestown.org/program/moscow-using-svalbard-to-test-natos-readiness-and-resolve/ and jamestown.org/program/moscows-first-move-against-nato-could-take-place-in-norways-svalbard-archipelago/.
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