Italy updates Arctic stance as Greenland tensions escalate
Snow covers the city of Nuuk, Greenland, on Feb 9, 2025. (Photo: REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier)
ROME: Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged NATO on Friday (Jan 16) to develop "a coordinated presence" in the Arctic region to prevent tensions and respond to "interference by other actors", amid escalating tensions among Western allies over Greenland.
In a letter read during the presentation of an Italian government paper on the Arctic, Meloni said the region was becoming increasingly important due to the development of new sea routes and its huge "energy and mineral resources".
Italy has had observer status on the Arctic Council that oversees the region since 2013 and updated its policy amid recent US-Danish tensions over Greenland, which sharpened focus on the area.
US President Donald Trump has renewed calls for American control of Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it. The island, an autonomous territory of Denmark, rejected the idea in talks held in Washington this week, exposing "fundamental" differences.
FOCUS ON RUSSIA AND CHINA
"We are an observer country in the Arctic Council and have always upheld respect for international law, beginning with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," Meloni said.
The Italian policy document pointed to Russia's renewed focus on the Arctic, which included a build-up of its military presence there.
"This more assertive posture ... combined with the clear demonstration of the violation of the principle of the inviolability of borders shown in Ukraine, first led NATO and subsequently the European Union to react," the document said.
Italy's document also flagged China's attempt to raise its Arctic profile as a self-declared "near-Arctic state," including growing interest in shipping along the Northern Sea Route and closer ties with Moscow that extend to military matters.
Russia said on Thursday that Western countries had produced no facts to support the argument that Moscow or Beijing threatened Greenland. China urged the United States on Monday not to use other countries as an excuse to pursue its own interests.
ARCTIC SHIPPING ROUTES OFFER "SIGNIFICANT PROSPECTS"
This week, some European countries sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland, showing solidarity with Denmark, a move Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said he did not understand.
"I believe, instead, that it is in our interest to keep the Western world, the free world together, and to always think and act within a NATO framework and a UN framework."
The document said the development of Arctic shipping routes opens up "significant prospects" for shipbuilders including Italy's Fincantieri, which builds vessels that can operate in extreme environments.
"We must establish an Arctic business forum involving all our main companies," said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
