There Is No Need For Increase In Non-Arctic States' Military Presence In Arctic - Moscow

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2021) Russia believes that there are no challenges in the Arctic that would require a build-up of the regional military presence of non-Arctic nations, Nikolai Korchunov, the ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry and a senior official of the Arctic Council, said in an interview with Sputnik.

According to the official, as the Arctic region becomes more easily accessible as a result of climate change and ice melting, there is a trend of increasing foreign military presence, including in the immediate vicinity of Russia's borders.

"These developments weaken the prospects of preserving the Arctic region as a territory of low military and political tensions, and constructive international cooperation.

We assume that there is no potential for a conflict in the Arctic, there are no challenges of a military dimension, especially those that would require an increase in the military presence of military contingents of non-Arctic states and deployment of foreign military infrastructure on the territory of Arctic nations," Korchunov said.

Russia is firmly convinced that regional peace and stability can only be achieved through constructive security dialogue with neighbors and abstaining from any provocative actions, the official emphasized.