Canada's Foreign Ministry announced the launch of a new foreign policy strategy in the Arctic

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced the launch of a new Arctic Foreign Policy (AFP). The Canadian government website said on December 6.

"Many countries, including non-Arctic states, are seeking to play a more important role in Arctic affairs. The changing security and political realities in the region mean that we need a new approach to advance our national interests and ensure a stable, prosperous and secure Arctic," said Joly.

It is specified that the Canadian diplomatic strategy will provide "partnership to address current needs" and "flexibility to adapt to future challenges."

The Canadian Foreign Minister spoke about the main principles of AFP's activities.

"The first one, of course, is that we will continue to defend Canadian sovereignty, including control of the Northwest Passage," she said.

Joly also cited advancing Canada's interests through pragmatic diplomacy, leadership in Arctic governance and adopting a more inclusive approach to diplomacy.

Earlier, on October 3, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin told Izvestia that the idea of Canada and Northern European countries to create an alliance for stability in the Arctic is doomed to failure without Russia's participation.

Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly informed Bloomberg about this intention. According to her, Canada and the North European countries are working on the creation of a "security dialog in the Arctic," or a forum to discuss countering Russia.

Prior to that, on September 17, the commander of the U.S. Air Force in Europe and Africa, General James Hecker, said that NATO is studying the idea of creating a joint air operations control center in the Arctic. Hecker specified that the commander-in-chief of NATO's joint forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, supported the idea of creating an air operations center in the Arctic.