The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the New Strategy Center organized the conference on “How the war in Ukraine has changed the security situation in the Black Sea and the High North” in Oslo on Monday 7 November. The event presented the results of the NUPI-NSC project on security in the Black Sea and Arctic region, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
The event was moderated by Karsten Friis, senior researcher at NUPI, and had as speakers Dr. Antonia Colibășanu, NSC senior associate expert, BG (ret.) Eduard Simion, NSC senior associate expert, and Dr. Jakub Godzimirski, NUPI research professor.
Discussions focused on current issues of great strategic importance, such as the impact of Russia’s aggressive behavior on regional security, and also compared the security context in the Black Sea and the Arctic, and analyzed the long-term consequences of Moscow’s actions. Thus, Romanian participants underlined Russia’s intentions to change the balance of power in Europe by consolidating its control in the Black Sea and turning this area into a war zone. The geostrategic importance of Snake Island was also approached, both from a military and economic point of view, with a focus on the energy component, as well as in terms of freedom of navigation and its impact on the global economy. The current context should prompt the North Atlantic Alliance to strengthen its positions across the Eastern Flank, as well as in the Arctic, to prevent challenges from Russia in the future.