MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pledged that Moscow would defend its interests in the Arctic both in military and diplomatic terms.
Russian news agencies cited Lavrov as saying in a series of documentaries that Moscow was resolved to counter a drive by Washington and its NATO allies to stage an increasing number of military drills in the Arctic region.
“We see how NATO alliance is increasing exercises in connection with possible crises in the Arctic,” Lavrov was cited as saying in the series on “Soviet breakthrough”. He said that Russia is completely ready to defend its interests in political and military terms.”
Lavrov made his remarks against the background of a new Pentagon strategy on the Arctic issued in July outlining what the United States described as intensified Russian activity around the Arctic region.
The report stated that Moscow had reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military spots in the Arctic region and pointed to increased Moscow cooperation with Beijing on minerals as well as shipping routes which could also affect stability in the region.
When the report was issued, Russia’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs accused Washington of stoking tensions in the Arctic and rejected any notion that increased cooperation in the area with Beijing could affect stability in the region.
