Norway raises security concerns over Manhattan-sized Arctic land sale as tensions rise

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Man drops gun, flees charging polar bear in Norway

Dramatic video captures a man’s escape from a polar bear in Pyramiden, a town in Norway’s archipelago of Svalbard. (Credit: Rebecca Baack via Storyful)

A large plot of private land in Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago may soon be sold for about €300 million ($330 million), but the deal has raised concerns in Oslo over national security.

The property, known as Søre Fagerfjord, covers roughly 60 square kilometers (23 square miles) and is the last privately owned land in Svalbard. 

A group of international and Norwegian investors has offered to buy the land, but officials in Norway worry it could give foreign powers a strategic foothold in a sensitive Arctic region.

The land is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the main town of Longyearbyen and has been in Norwegian hands for over a century. It was listed for sale last year, and the government quickly made it clear that any sale must be cleared in advance due to security laws.

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Snow-covered mountains near the Kings Bay research station in Ny-Ålesund on Spitsbergen island, Norway, April 10, 2015.  (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)

One of the sellers even called it a “strategic foothold in the High Arctic,” which has only fueled concerns. 

Svalbard is becoming more important as melting sea ice opens up new shipping routes and increases global interest in the region.

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A white rainbow over the Arctic Sea at Svalbard, Norway.  (Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The buyers describe themselves as environmentalists from NATO countries who want to protect the land.

 “The consortium includes both Norwegian and international investors who have a long-term perspective of protecting this territory from environmental changes,” said Birgit Liodden, a shareholder and climate activist. 

She added that about half the money from the sale would go toward environmental projects in Svalbard. So far, the group has not discussed the sale with the Norwegian government.

In the area surrounding Nordenskjøld Land National Park in Svalbard, a lone polar bear is exposed on the rocks where a decade ago a glacier stood. (Mark Fitzsimmons, Sony World Photography Awards 2023)

Still, Norwegian officials are cautious. In 2024, they blocked a similar attempt by Chinese investors. Trade Minister Cecilie Myrseth warned at the time that such actions could harm regional stability and threaten national interests.

Svalbard is governed by a 1920 treaty that gives over 40 countries, including Russia, China and the U.S., equal rights to live and do business there. 

Russia, which operates a settlement on the islands, has accused Norway of breaking the treaty by increasing its military presence, something Norway denies.

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The sellers’ lawyer, Per Kyllingstad, said the buyers only want to protect nature and that the sale should not be blocked.

Jasmine is a writer at Fox News Digital and a military spouse based in New Orleans. Stories can be sent to jasmine.baehr@fox.com