Russia is concerned about growing NATO activity in the Arctic and sees the danger of “unintentional incidents” in the region, said Nikolai Korchunov, chairman of the Arctic Council’s Senior Officials Committee.
Last month, Finland and Sweden, which are considering joining NATO, held a long-planned joint exercise with the alliance, according to BTA.
According to Korchunov, in addition to security risks, such activities could cause environmental damage in the Arctic.
On Thursday, Russian Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, Russia could deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the Kaliningrad region.
Moreover, Korchunov warned the West that attempts to create an alternative format for the Arctic Council would have negative consequences. According to him, this “will only lead to the creation of dividing lines and strengthen the centrifugal tendencies, which will affect the collective principles on the basis of which decisions are made in the Arctic region.”
Korchunov explained that the forced suspension of the Arctic Council “has a negative impact on the welfare of the Arctic population and especially the indigenous peoples of the North, whose representatives have the status of permanent members of this organization.”
On March 3, all Arctic Council countries except Russia issued a written statement withdrawing from the Russian-chaired meetings. Their decision was related to the war in Ukraine.
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental organization of Arctic countries. It includes Denmark (along with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Canada, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States. Last year, Russia took over the rotation of the organization from Iceland. The term of office of the President is two years.