By expanding its military presence in the Arctic, Russia threatens NATO’s anti-submarine defense line in the North Atlantic. This was stated by First Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Michael Murphy at a press briefing. According to him, the US State Department with the participation of the Pentagon will "respond to the increasing presence of Russia in the Arctic." 

“Russia has created a new Arctic command, forms Arctic military units, restores the infrastructure left over from the Cold War, ports and airfields, creates new infrastructure and announced plans to deploy the S-400 system on the Kola Peninsula,” a State Department official said.

According to Murphy, such a buildup of military force goes beyond territorial defense.

“Part of its goal is to demonstrate strength in the North Atlantic region and endanger the Faroe-Icelandic frontier so that in the event of a crisis it is prevented the United States and Canada from reacting and sending reinforcements,” the American diplomat said. 

The so-called Faroe-Icelandic Frontier is a NATO anti-submarine defense line located in the North Atlantic between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. It was designated during the Second World War. Its significance for NATO intensified in the 1950s, when the SOSUS system was installed across the border to monitor Soviet submarines.  

Polar line 

Experts note that the United States did not show interest in the Arctic for a long time after the collapse of the USSR. However, after Russia began to actively implement projects here, the American side increased the activity of its forces in this region.  

“Undoubtedly, the current situation strikes at the geopolitical interests of the USA and NATO, which are used to controlling everything, and therefore make such statements. If before the USA did not pay any attention to the Arctic, considered it to be the periphery of the world system, now it is within the scope of their national interests, and therefore they will try to compete with Russia in every possible way, ”said a leading researcher at the Center for Problem Research in an interview with RT. Security RAS Konstantin Blokhin.

  • Fighters of the special forces detachment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic during exercises in the North Pole region
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  • © Valery Melnikov

At the same time, at the end of December 2019, during a conference call at the Ministry of Defense, the Commander of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation Alexander Moiseev drew attention to the fact that in addition to the military, NATO intelligence activity is growing in the Arctic.  

In turn, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, during a press conference on the results of the activities of Russian diplomacy in 2019, said that "there is no reason to bring military methods of work to the Arctic."  

"In this regard, we consider it incorrect to draw NATO into this region, in high latitudes, but we are in favor of resuming the previous practice, when the chiefs of the general staffs of the armed forces of the Arctic Council met solely to ensure the proper level of confidence," noted the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation. 

Nikolai Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, senior official of the Arctic Council from Russia, made a statement that Moscow is concerned about the increased activity in the Arctic of non-Arctic NATO member states, which confirm documents justifying the expediency of a military presence in high latitudes. According to the diplomat, this leads to tension and "undermines the preservation of the Arctic as a zone of peace, stability and constructive interaction." 

Recall that in early May, the NATO strike group, consisting of American and British ships, made a call to the Barents Sea. The group included US Navy destroyers Porter, Donald Cook and Roosevelt, as well as the frigate Kent of the British Navy. Commander of the US Navy in Europe and Africa, Admiral James Foggo, commenting on the maneuvers, said that so NATO forces allegedly "ensured trade security and demonstrated freedom of navigation in difficult conditions."

Statements by US State Department officials about Russia's presence in the Arctic seem particularly strange against the background of such provocative actions, said Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Moscow State University’s faculty of world politics. 

“The entry of four NATO ships at the beginning of May in the Barents Sea is a clear provocation of the West directed against Russia. I’m sure that the State Department’s current statement was made to maintain a certain level of tension in this region, ”the political scientist said in a conversation with RT.  

Russian interests  

Russia firmly and consistently defends its geopolitical interests in the Arctic. In December 2019, the Russian government approved a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) infrastructure until 2035, which provides for year-round navigation through the unified transport communications of Russia in the Arctic, as well as reconstruction of airports in the regions adjacent to the NSR and the creation of Arctic integrated emergency rescue centers of the Ministry of Emergencies Of Russia.

  • The icebreaker "Admiral Makarov" in the Vostochny Strait while leaving for a flight to ensure summer navigation on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the eastern region of the Arctic
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  • © Vitaliy Ankov

In March 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree On the Fundamentals of Russian State Policy in the Arctic until 2035. The document outlines the country's main national interests in the region, including ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia, as well as preserving the Arctic as a territory of the world, a stable and mutually beneficial partnership. 

According to Konstantin Blokhin, Washington is clearly concerned that Russia is actively developing the Northern Sea Route, and this motivates American officials to express the need to respond to Moscow’s actions in the Arctic. At the same time, the expert emphasized that Washington has no real basis for claims to this region.  

“However, officials and officials will continue to make such statements, and perceive any exercises on our part as a threat to US national security. Washington will continue to recognize as a threat those countries that are not members of the Western bloc and uphold the sovereign foreign policy course, ”the expert explained.  

NATO and the US later remembered the Arctic and now want to catch up, says Andrei Sidorov. 

“And maintaining a certain level of tension regarding the Arctic topic through rhetoric in the Western media, statements by governments and state bodies is necessary so that this problem does not get lost behind all other topics of the US geopolitical agenda,” the expert said. 

At the same time, Sidorov recalled that the Arctic is a region rich in minerals, therefore, a struggle is ongoing for this northern polar region of the Earth, which can take various forms, including military ones.   

“As for the statements made by the US State Department, they are constantly broadcast by the diplomatic and military departments of NATO countries with the aim of creating an information background on the Arctic problem, giving reasons for certain decisions, as well as maintaining a certain tone in the region where NATO and the USA , unlike Russia, they failed to achieve strengthening of their positions, ”the expert concluded.