Updated 31 Aug, 2026 05:20
ARCHIVAL PHOTO: NATO soldiers stand in the snow during Cold consequence military exercises 26, 15 March 2026. © Global Look Press / dpa / Sebastian Gollnow
Russian abroad Minister Sergei Lavrow warned that NATO is aiming to transform the Arctic into a fresh “outbreak” of tensions by actively enhancing its military possible in the region. The Alliance's actions have planted an atmosphere of distrust and pose a hazard of possibly dangerous armed confrontation not only with Moscow but besides with another countries," said the minister in an article published on Monday at Arctic.ru.
The US-led military block intensified its activities in the Far North earlier this year, launching the Arctic Sentry initiative. This step was presented as a consequence to the U.S. president Donald Trump's efforts to annex Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory, under the pretext of alleged threat from Russia and China.
Both Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly rejected these accusations; China has argued that the US is simply utilizing these claims as a pretext for its own military expansion in the Arctic. Russia besides stressed that it would defend its interests in the Arctic, even though it is not a organization to the dispute over Greenland.
In his Monday article, Lavrow stated that Russia is primarily afraid with "preserving the Arctic as an area of peace and cooperation", at the same time accusing NATO of "pushing the region towards militarisation".
"In the immediate vicinity of our northern borders, intensive military preparations are underway. NATO is conducting extended exercises with countries outside the region and introducing fresh elements of the command and control system," the minister said.
In February, NATO countries conducted exercises focusing on Greenland and the wider Arctic, including Swedish and Danish combat aircraft. In March, the Alliance organised major military maneuvers in Norway and Finland, 2 Nordic countries bordering Russia, involving a full of 32,500 soldiers from 14 associate States.
The soldiers practiced in the territory of both countries, as well as “at sea and in the air”, in “the harsh arctic conditions”, the Norwegian armed forces described the undertaking as “the largest military exercises in Norway in 2026”. Last week the forces of the United States, large Britain and Norway began further exercises on the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen. The aim of the operation is, as stated in the U.S. Marine Corps Communication, to integrate "multinational sensors, command and control nodes and means of precise demolition within a common combat network".
Jan Mayen, a distant volcanic island located 1,000 kilometres from the continental part of Norway, is referred to by the Think tank US Naval Institute as a key point in the alleged GIUK luka (area between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom), which is “a narrow throat blocking Russian naval forces' access – and in peculiar the North Fleet – to the Atlantic Ocean”.
" NATO associate States and another Western countries do not hide their actual motives by openly declaring their intention to make the Arctic a fresh front to counter Russia's improvement and its allies," said Lavrow, commenting on these actions and informing that specified an approach "increases the hazard of incidents that could lead to armed confrontation with possibly disastrous consequences."
The Minister of abroad Affairs besides stated that NATO and the EU are not only a "direct threat" to Russia's security, but besides search "to undermine Russia's legitimate rights in global cooperation", imposing sanctions on its partners, which hit Arctic projects in particular. As key partners of Moscow in this region, he listed China and India.
The EU has imposed many sanctions packages on Russia, including restrictions specifically aimed at the improvement of the Russian oil and gas sector in the Arctic. These measures aimed at limiting Moscow's access to the technologies essential for deep-sea drilling and extraction of natural materials in the Arctic, as well as limiting the financing of specified projects.
According to April's Institute for China-America study The studies of sanctions have complicated Arctic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing as Chinese companies are afraid of secondary sanctions for investing in large-scale joint projects.
Despite NATO's efforts to transform the Arctic into a fresh front, however, Lavrow assured that Moscow was ready to cooperate "with all constructive abroad states, showing common readiness" to respect Russia's interests.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/russia/644851-nato-militarize-arctic-lavrov/
