NATO’s military buildup along its Eastern frontier with Russia and Belarus is well underway. It is already building what might be termed a wall of iron running from Greece to Norway’s border with Murmansk, but it still covets complete control of Russia’s northern and southern flanks, that is the Arctic and the Black Sea.
To further control of the northern flank, the Department of Defense on July 22 announced a new Arctic strategy for 2024. The intent of the strategy, as described on July 22 by Space News, is for the U.S. to dominate the targeted region and keep “rivals” Russia and China out. The United States views the Arctic region as one of strategic power competition in light of Russia’s significant presence and efforts by China to expand its influence there. A key trend highlighted in the document is China’s ambition to expand its footprint in the Arctic through infrastructure investments and an increased military presence. Additionally, Russia’s military capabilities in the Arctic pose potential threats to the U.S. and its allies. The strategy notes that Russia’s collaboration with China in the region is on the rise, further complicating the security landscape.
The response of the Kremlin to the new strategy came quickly. “Yes, signs of confrontationalism can be seen even in this document published by the Pentagon,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied to a media query on July 23. He pointed out that Russia has a responsible position on the Arctic issue. “The Arctic is a strategic region for our country. Russia takes a responsible position and helps prevent the region from becoming ‘a territory of discord’ that escalates tensions,” he pointed out.
Similarly in the Black Sea, the U.S., through NATO, is trying to impose its concept of “freedom of navigation” on a body of water where such freedom of navigation has been limited and regulated by the Montreux Convention of 1936. The Montreux Convention “is a contract for limiting ‘freedom of navigation’ to warships for the safety of the Black Sea. There is no ‘freedom of navigation’ for warships in the Black Sea, there is ‘security restriction,’” wrote Turkish Cumhuriyet columnist Mehmet Ali Güller in a column posted on July 20. “Of course, the United States is the one who wants a ‘free/open Black Sea.’ For 75 years, the United States has been seeking to find ‘open doors’ to enter the Black Sea” without limit.
Güller also charges the U.S. with trying to open a new flank against Russia through the Caucasus. Since U.S. efforts to enter Georgia have failed recently, the U.S. is now trying to play the Armenia card. “Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was invited to the events of the NATO Summit in Washington,” he writes. “It was then raised that the U.S. military would have representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Defense. U.S. Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya confirmed the news and said ‘a new strategic phase has begun’ between the United States and Armenia” (this was reported by RT last week—ed).
