Minister: we should fear Russia

Yet another NATO submarine was spotted outside Tórshavn yesterday morning.

This was the 27th time so far this year that naval vessels have been granted diplomatic clearance to enter Faroese territory.

Like the two other submarines that entered Faroese waters in the past few weeks, the one spotted yesterday made a stopover to change a crew member.

Foreign minister Jenis av Rana says we should get used to the idea of seeing NATO naval vessels.

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“Up to recently, NATO vessels tended to avoid Faroese waters because Faroese authorities were not keen on seeing warships in their territory,” he says.

“NATO now knows that its vessels are welcome here, so they take the shortest route when for instance they need to make crew changes.”

The minister says that Faroese people must learn to live with an increased presence of NATO vessels and that this presence is likely to increase in the future.

He adds that there has been talk about Russian authorities planning to fit their fishing vessels with military equipment.

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This is an obvious cause for concern, he says, although he cannot say whether this applies to the Russian fishing vessels that enter Faroese ports.

“We have every reason to fear Russia – let there be no doubt about that. Russia is increasing its activities in the Arctic region, and the Faroe Islands are in a very vulnerable position in this context,” he says.

“We must not underestimate the risk posed by Russia. Considering what Russia is doing these days in Ukraine, it would be naive of me to rule out that they might be contemplating something similar in our region.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

Translated by prosa.fo.

More Faroese News in English.