Russia is ready for a conflict with NATO in the Arctic, claims Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.
He claims that NATO has increased its activity in the area, and that Russia is ready to defend its interests.
– From a military, political and technical point of view, Russia is fully ready to defend its interests in the Arctic region, says Lavrov, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
The Arctic, the large area in the north, is spread over eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Canada, the USA, Iceland and Russia. Seven of the eight countries are members of NATO.
This summer, the US military released a report pointing to Russia’s increased cooperation with China in the region, which could affect stability in the Arctic. Among other things, Russia is said to have opened up a large number of military bases from the Soviet era, reports Reuters.
Lavrov: Ready to defend our interests
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, claims that they have seen increased activity from NATO in the area and that they are ready to defend their interests in the Arctic.
– Norway was involved when NATO was formed, so they have to keep an eye on what is happening there, Lavrov said in connection with a filming.
At the same time, he pointed out that the Arctic “is not NATO territory”, and that they are also ready to defend the area militarily.
– From a military, political and technical standpoint, Russia is fully ready to defend its interests in the Arctic region, says Lavrov.
Sweden boycotted the Arctic Council after the invasion
Since 1996, the Arctic Council has been meeting. It consists of the eight countries and various organizations for indigenous peoples. The presidency of the Council rotates between the different countries every two years.
When Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it also chaired the council. In response to the invasion, the other countries chose to pause their activity in the Council.
“Due to Russia’s flagrant violation of these principles, our representatives will not travel to Russia for Arctic Council meetings. In addition, our states temporarily suspend all participation in meetings of the Council,” the government wrote in a press release.
Conducted exercise with NATO countries this spring
Last spring, Russia announced that it had stopped paying to the council – as long as no real work was underway that included all Arctic countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry also claimed that they were ready to leave the council if it developed into an “unfriendly institution” towards Russia.
In May, however, Russia participated in an exercise simulating an oil spill, reports Reuters.