Russia sees risks of unintentional clashes with NATO in the Arctic: Russian Diplomat

New Delhi: Russia is concerned about the involvement of NATO’s non-Arctic states in the alliance’s military activity in northern areas and notes risks of unintentional clashes with the alliance’ forces in the Arctic, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-Large Nikolay Korchunov told media.

“The internationalization of the Alliance’s military activities in high latitudes, in which non-Arctic NATO states are involved, can’t fail to cause concern,” said the diplomat, who is also Chairman of the Senior Officials Committee at the Arctic Council. “This raises the risk of unintentional incidents, which, in addition to security risks, can also cause serious damage to the fragile Arctic ecosystem.”

NATO’s military exercises in the north of Norway don’t help security in the Arctic, Korchunov said. “The recently increased activity of NATO in the Arctic is a matter of concern,” he said. “Recently, another large-scale military exercise of the alliance took place in the north of Norway, which, in our opinion, does not contribute to ensuring security in the region.”

The large-scale international exercise Cold Response started in Norway on March 14 and lasted two weeks. They were the largest Norwegian-led maneuvers since the 1980s, the country’s Foreign Ministry said. The drills involved about 30,000 soldiers from 27 states, including Finland and Sweden which are NATO partner countries.

If Sweden and Finland join NATO, it would hurt security and trust in the Arctic, Korchunov told.

“Of course, NATO expansion at the expense of traditionally non-bloc countries will not contribute to security and mutual trust in the Arctic, the strengthening of which Russia has consistently advocated,” said the diplomat, who is also Chairman of the Senior Officials Committee at the Arctic Council, when commenting on the prospect that Sweden and Finland will join NATO.

The diplomat said discussions on this issue are currently underway in Stockholm and Helsinki. “I’d like to note that the long-term commitment of Stockholm and Helsinki to the policy of non-alignment with military alliances has been an important factor in stability and security in the region of Northern Europe and on the European continent as a whole,” Korchunov said.

Earlier, media reported, citing sources that Helsinki and Stockholm could apply for membership as early as the summer. On Thursday, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that “Russia would strengthen its western borders if Sweden and Finland joined NATO, and then “there will no longer be any talk of a non-nuclear status for the Baltics.”.

(Vinayak)