A warning against the West’s toying with nuclear weapons came Sept. 18 from Moscow from Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Cooperation, and Senior Arctic Official. Speaking at a press conference, reported by TASS, he gave context to his warning by reporting on the increased conflict in the Baltic Sea and northward, noting that Russia is the only non-NATO member of the Arctic Council.

Maslennikov said: “For decades, the Baltic Sea was a very stable, peaceful region. As soon as NATO decided to venture there—or rather, its member states decided they needed to strengthen their defense (in their view) in the Baltic (though it is, in fact, more of an offensive posture)—the Baltic ceased to be the peaceful and stable region it once was. Now, generally speaking, we are witnessing the beginning of that same process in the Arctic region,” quoted TASS.