March 6, 2024 (EIRNS)—Russian Ambassador at Large Nikolay Korchunov, in remarks reported by TASS, has pointed out that the U.S. and NATO are demonstrating increased military activity in the Arctic. “They are increasing their potential and expanding the scope of drills in the Arctic region,” he said at a plenary session of the 9th international conference on the sustainable development of the Far East and Arctic regions. According to the diplomat, the alliance’s course toward the militarization of the region “reveals that the approaches of Western Arctic countries are based on the ideas of confrontation, rivalry, containment, and the use of force scenarios in their own interests in the Arctic to the prejudice of other countries.”
He stressed that Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO could lead to further militarization of the Arctic. All of the members of the Arctic Council, with the exception of Russia, are now also members of NATO. “This, of course, can lead to further militarization of the Arctic region, which carries risks of increasing military and political tension in the high latitudes.”
