Don't let the complexity of Norway's Svalbard Islands legal status get you confused about whether to quickly and forcefully resist a Russian ploy to take them over.
NATO is starting a year-long examination of potential sources of conflict with Russia.
Svalbard, more properly an archipelago, about twice the size of Belgium, with total population of about 2,500, nominally belongs to Norway, but under the terms of the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, certain countries, including the U.S., Denmark, China, and Russia have rights of access.
While Norway claims sovereignty, Russia, which has the second largest population on the islands and two long-standing Soviet-era settlements, frequently contests Norway’s claim.
That’s one reason I considered the area a tricky forward line for Britain. Britain is teaming up with Norway to defend the north far forward of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom Gap of the Cold War. Matthew Palmer discusses the High North competing bastions, which includes the Svalbard Islands regardless of how you define "high north".
As long as we don't pretend Russian aggression in the Svalbard Islands is not really happening because of the complexity, there is no reason Russia should win if they are foolish enough to think they have found a loophole in Article V.
On the bright side, Russia wrecked much of their specialist Arctic-capable ground forces by feeding them into the Ukraine meat grinder. Perhaps America and other Western countries should send their off-duty Arctic-capable troops to Svalbard in platoon tour bus-size hunting trips there on a rotating basis under the treaty provisions.
And speaking of the new G-I-N Gap.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
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NOTE: Map from Britannica. And this is the treaty.
