Wilson Center policy experts will come to Grand Forks next week to speak about Russian relations with the United States, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., announced Tuesday.
The Russian Symposium with Wilson Center scholars is set for March 31 at UND. The focal point of the discussion likely will be potential Arctic missions for Grand Forks Air Force Base units, but it's possible other topics, including claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election, the country's military advancements in Ukraine and Asia as a whole, could be discussed.
"We've been very concerned about Russia as it relates to the opening of the arctic," said Heitkamp, who asked the Wilson Center scholars to come to Grand Forks. "We're looking at what does that mean for the Grand Forks Air Force Base."
Chartered by Congress as a memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, the Wilson Center in Washington hosts multiple events to engage in global discussion, as well as conducting research to address international issues.
Heitkamp said bases in the northern U.S. like Grand Forks were put there to address threats from Russia, adding Russia is becoming an aggressive force.
"Now we see Russia re-emerging as a serious threat on the global stage," she said.
Earlier this year, the Air Force declined to give Grand Forks Air Force Base a refueling mission for tankers. Heitkamp said that was only for one round, and a possible tanker mission is not out of the question. But the U.S. needs to be strategic in how it uses the Air Force base to address national security.
UND and the Wilson Center will host the first event, which will be a question-and-answer forum, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 210 of Clifford Hall, 4149 University Ave. Two Wilson Center scholars will speak at the event: Kenneth Yalowitz, a former U.S. ambassador to Belarus and Georgia, and Matthew Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center.
Heitkamp will host a second event with the two scholars, which will include a meeting with 30 community leaders that afternoon at UND, she said. Officials from the Cavalier Air Force Station also will be invited.
