France, March 13 -- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who are making separate visits to the Scandinavian country, will meet their host Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Bardufoss, a military town located above the Arctic Circle where NATO's Cold Response exercise is taking place.

The High North has long been shielded by the concept of "Arctic exceptionalism" - the notion that the region had its own set of unwritten rules of cooperation which were immune to geopolitical rivalries.

But regional dynamics between Russia and the West have changed since the start of the war in Ukraine and due to US President Donald Trump's threats to take over Greenland.

"In the face of new threats, we are deepen...