UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has urged NATO allies to significantly bolster Arctic security measures during her visit to British forces in northern Norway. Cooper emphasized the critical need for a coordinated defense initiative—dubbed “Arctic Sentry”—to counter growing Russian military activities in the region.
Speaking alongside Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, Cooper warned that Russia’s Northern Fleet utilizes Arctic routes as strategic gateways to threaten Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. “Our entire transatlantic security depends on Arctic security,” she stated during joint military observations with Norwegian forces.
Cooper’s proposed Arctic Sentry framework would mirror existing NATO operations in the Baltic Sea, featuring enhanced intelligence sharing, coordinated military exercises, and joint operational planning. This initiative comes despite ongoing diplomatic tensions between the United States and Denmark regarding Greenland’s status, which Cooper characterized as secondary to collective security concerns.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Eide endorsed Cooper’s proposal while cautioning against distractions from the primary security challenge. “We must avoid distractions from issue number one,” Eide remarked, referencing his recent visit to Ukrainian shelters in Kyiv. “Helping Ukraine achieve a just and lasting peace matters more than anything else for transatlantic security.
Both officials emphasized that despite internal NATO disagreements, particularly regarding US interest in acquiring mineral-rich Greenland, the alliance must maintain unity against Russian aggression. Cooper explicitly stated that Greenland’s future should be determined solely by its people and Danish authorities, while urging focused cooperation on Arctic defense strategies.