(Ottawa) For the second time since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, is heading for the European continent. On the menu of discussions for its first stopover, Finland: security in the Arctic – another region that the Kremlin considers its backyard.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The main objective of this new trip to Europe is obviously to coordinate, between allies, the response to the invasion of Ukraine by the regime of Vladimir Putin. To this end, the head of Canadian diplomacy will successively travel to Finland, Germany and, finally, Belgium.
In the Finnish capital, Helsinki, Mme Joly will meet with his counterpart, Pekka Haavisto. In particular, they will discuss ways to coordinate efforts on Arctic issues, it was said on the Ottawa side.
“We need to get closer to countries like Finland that have similar sensitivities to serve our common interests, and work together in the Arctic,” said a Canadian government source as Minister Joly approached the trip to this country, whose one-third of the territory is located north of the polar circle.
Security issue
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the issue of Arctic security has reappeared on the radar. But the lack of Canadian muscle to ensure its sovereignty has been apparent for several years, deplores Rob Huebert, professor of political science at the University of Calgary. “This government’s complete lack of attention to Arctic defense should worry Canadians,” he said.
And if Finland were to apply for NATO membership, as it hinted in the wake of the Russian offensive on Ukrainian soil, the Arctic would become even more vulnerable, Huebert observes. “It will be of crucial importance. Russia attacked the last two countries that said they wanted to join NATO: Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014,” he said.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) provides surveillance of the Arctic region, in particular by relying on the North Warning System chain of radar stations. Canada’s National Defense Minister, Anita Anand, promised that the “modernization” of NORAD was a “short-term” priority for Ottawa.
Berlin and Brussels
In Berlin, Germany, the focus will be on Moldova.
The country bordering Ukraine has seen the arrival of more than 387,000 Ukrainian refugees, according to data published by the United Nations on March 30. This small, impoverished nation is not a member of NATO and is among those where Moscow is waging disinformation campaigns to demonize Ukrainian refugees.
This aspect – disinformation – will be the subject of discussions in the German capital, from where Minister Mélanie Joly will then leave to land in Brussels, Belgium, to participate in the meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the G7 and the NATO.