<
https://theconversation.com/growing-trump-putin-detente-could-spell-trouble-for-the-arctic-251386>
"During a wide-ranging 90-minute speech to the US congress of March 4, Donald
Trump revisited his determination to “get” Greenland “one way or the other”.
Trump said his country needed Greenland “for national security”. While he said
he and his government “strongly support your right to determine your own
future” he added that “if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of
America”.
Trump’s ambitions regarding Greenland and its considerable mineral wealth are
just one of a raft of issues in the first six weeks of his second term that
have plunged European global politics into disarray.
As the White House ramps up the pressure on Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr
Zelensky, to allow the US access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth, the US president
is also talking about “cutting a deal” with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
That deal would not only mean territorial losses for Kyiv, but would prepare
the ground for a potentially far-reaching economic partnership between the
White House and the Kremlin.
Currently, Trump and Putin are primarily focused on Ukrainian territory and
mineral assets. But discussions have also begun on where else “deals” might be
made, including in the Arctic.
A carve up of the Arctic is an attractive proposition for the two countries
given the importance both leaders attach to mineral resource wealth. As in the
case of Ukraine, such an approach would reflect Trump’s predisposition for
transactional geopolitics at the expense of multilateral approaches.
In the Arctic, any deal would effectively end the principle of “circumpolar
cooperation”. This has, since the end of the cold war, upheld the regional
primacy of the eight Arctic states (A8) that have cooperated to solve common
challenges.
Since the Arctic Council was established in 1996, the A8 has worked on issues
of environmental protection, sustainable development, human security and
scientific collaboration. That harmony has been crucial in an era in which
climate change is causing the rapid melting of Arctic ice."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
