Given the ongoing geopolitical contestations and the current state of Norway’s relations with Russia, Norway may not be able to fully realise the ambitious agenda for its upcoming presidency of the Arctic Council.
The Ukraine War demonstrates that future wars between unmatched military rivals might not just require a ‘whole of government’ approach, but perhaps a ‘whole of people’s’ approach to achieve favourable outcomes in conflict.
Starlink, a satellite internet constellation owned by Elon Musk, provides satellite-based internet connectivity to consumers globally, and has been actively involved in guiding Ukrainian military drones and missiles against Russian military positions, thus becoming party to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict and a bonafide military objective. Russia had also accused Starlink of helping the Ukrainian forces to guide and modify fire of the two Neptune missiles, which led to the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva.
If the US and Russia fail to negotiate a successor agreement to New START, there is the possibility of an unrestricted arms race with detrimental implications.
India needs to strengthen its existing bilateral relations with all the Arctic countries and continue to re-emphasize its call for peaceful resolution of Arctic disputes.
European imports of Russian gas have steadily declined either voluntarily or on account of Russia weaponising energy, propelling the push towards LNG imports.
US and EU sanctions against key Russian arms producing firms, design bureaus and export organisations have had significant implications for Russian arms importing nations.
Ukraine’s security predicament in the face of the Russian military onslaught brings into focus the vacuity of big power security assurances in the absence of legally binding security guarantees and treaty commitments.
