Norway has just put a stop to the planned sale of the Søre Fagerfjord domain on the strategic Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic. Located between mainland Norway and the North Pole, this private land arouses desire due to its geographical location, but also the possibilities given to the signatories of the 1920 treaty to exploit the resources of this territory.
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Norway has decided not to allow the sale of land in Svalbard, hoping to reassert its sovereignty over the small territory in the far north of the country. The state is invoking the National Security Act to demand that a sale and even the opening of negotiations be subject to its approval.
“ The current owners of Søre Fagerfjord (…) are open to selling to actors who could challenge Norwegian legislation in Svalbard », Argued the Minister of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Cecilie Myrseth, in a press release. “ This could disrupt stability in the region and potentially threaten Norwegian interests “, she added.
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The seller is, according to Norwegian media, a company controlled by a naturalized Norwegian Russian. His lawyer specified that he had received “ concrete signs of interest ” from potential Chinese buyers. Mr Kyllingstad did not immediately respond to the Norwegian government’s announcement.
Svalbard, a region with high geopolitical and economic value
The Russians are very present on this archipelago, which is twice the size of Belgium. In 1920, a treaty was signed, giving Norway sovereignty over this small territory, but with the possibility for the other signatory nations to come and exploit the natural resources “on a footing of perfect equality”. It is for this reason that Russia is still present there.
In a context of tensions between Russia and the West, but also of retreating sea ice, the situation of the Svalbard archipelago is being studied closely. Many scientists take turns there to collect climatic and environmental data. Furthermore, the atmosphere in the Russian enclave of Barentsburg populated by Russians and Ukrainians is causing concern. The Russian public company Arktikugol has proudly raised Soviet flags there in recent weeks.
In 2016, the Norwegian government paid 33.5 million euros to buy, near Longyearbyen, the main town of the archipelago, the penultimate land still private in Svalbard which, it was already said, was arousing interest of Chinese investors.
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