Russia warns NATO about Arctic Guard

In Moscow they thinkthat they are not going to Greenland “Europeans are against Trump”, and NATO is against Russia. The Arctic, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, is turning into a new zone of military rivalry.

Moscow stated that attempts to ignore Russia’s interests in the Arctic will not go unanswered. An official representative announced this on Thursday Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharovacommenting on the development of the situation around Greenland and, in particular, the deployment of military personnel there by European member countries NATO.

As Zakharova emphasized, for Russia these steps are not “European answer” to previously stated intentions Donald Trump regarding the possible annexation of Greenland. Moscow views what is happening as an element broader NATO planaimed at strengthening the military presence in the Arctic region.

Previously France, Sweden, Germany And Norway announced their intention to send military personnel as part of the so-called “reconnaissance mission” to the capital of Greenland – Nuuk.

Zakharova drew attention to publications in Western media that talk about discussions within NATO regarding the launch of a new alliance mission in the Arctic under a possible name “Arctic Sentry”. According to Moscow, European NATO member states are “allegedly seeking to demonstrate Washington readiness to take a leading role in protecting the interests of the collective West in the Arctic.

At the same time, as the Russian side notes, US allies are trying to show that they are capable of “independently protecting Greenland” – according to them – from Russia And China.

“The discussion of this topic should be considered as another provocation on the part of Western countries that seek to impose their own order in this region of the world,” – said Zakharova.

She also warned that if European capitals choose the path militarization of the Arcticthen we must realize: attempts to aggravate the situation in high latitudes and create a threat to the security of one of the key participants in the Arctic community – Russia – will entail the most serious consequences.

According to Zakharova, previously the Arctic region was distinguished by a high level of interstate cooperation and lack of conflict potential.

“Today, thanks to the efforts of NATO states, it has turned into a space geopolitical rivalry. In order to strengthen its positions, the alliance, as usual, is ready to resort to force. NATO presence becomes a factor destabilization military-political situation in the region”, – noted the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Modeled after the NATO mission in the Baltic Sea

According to BBCdiscussion of security issues in the Arctic within NATO is still at preliminary stagehowever the process has already started.

The size of the possible contingent has not yet been determined, but deployment scenarios are being considered military personnel, warships, aviation, submarines and means of combating unmanned vehicles.

One of the proposals involves creating NATO’s maritime “Arctic Guard”which should become an analogue “Baltic Guard”previously deployed by the alliance in the Baltic Sea.

As noted BBCthe seabed in both the Baltic and Arctic regions is saturated underwater infrastructure — energy pipelines and Internet cables critical for communications and economic transactions worth billions of dollars daily. All these objects are vulnerable to hybrid attacks.

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