On May 20, Reykjavik will host a meeting of the Arctic Council, within the framework of which the first face-to-face meeting of the heads of the US and Russian foreign ministries will take place.

In anticipation of this event, both United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made statements about the security situation in the Arctic.

Thus, Blinken criticized Russia's actions in the Arctic, in particular, regarding the ownership of the Northern Sea Route (NSR).

“We have seen how Russia has made illegal maritime demands, especially with regard to the regulation of the passage of foreign ships along the Northern Sea Route, and these requirements are contrary to international law,” Blinken said during a briefing with Icelandic Foreign Minister Goodlaugur Thor Thordarson. in Reykjavik.

The head of the State Department also said that it is necessary to avoid the militarization of the Arctic, as this can lead to big problems.

"This increases the danger of various accidents and miscalculations, as well as undermines the general desire for a peaceful and sustainable future for the region," - said the head of the American foreign policy department.

  • Anthony Blinken

  • Reuters

  • © Saul Loeb

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that Russia's actions in the Arctic are legal and legitimate, while NATO's activity in this region raises questions.

“We see lamentations about the fact that Russia is deploying military activity in the Arctic.

Everyone knew for a long time that this is our territory, our land.

We are responsible for ensuring that our Arctic coast is safe, and everything that our country does there is absolutely legal and legitimate ... But when NATO tries to justify its attack in the Arctic, this is probably a slightly different situation.

And here we have questions to our neighbors such as Norway, for example, "Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with Sierra Leone Foreign Minister David John Francis.

Lavrov stressed that the Arctic "is our land and our waters," and the issue of strengthening NATO's positions in the region, with the filing of Norway, among other things, will be raised by Moscow at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Reykjavik.

Recall that the Arctic Council, created in 1996, unites Russia, the USA, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland. 

Security mechanisms

According to experts, despite the statement about fears about the growth of the militarization of the Arctic, the United States has taken a significant step in this direction.

So, in mid-April, Washington signed a Supplementary Defense Cooperation Agreement (SDCA) with Oslo.

According to this document, Norway provides the United States with unhindered access to the agreed areas and infrastructure facilities that can be used by the American side for military purposes.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, commenting on this step, noted that Norway deliberately follows a course of escalating tensions in the region and destroying relations with Moscow.

“We regard such activity, including in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders, as a deliberate adherence to Oslo's destructive course of escalating tensions in the Arctic region and destroying Russian-Norwegian relations,” she said.

Zakharova stressed that the Norwegian authorities position the agreement as "an important contribution to strengthening ties with a key NATO ally."

Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the situation around the actions of Norway, noted that in order to make the situation in the region more predictable and reduce military risks, Moscow proposes to resume the operation of the mechanism of regular meetings of the chiefs of general staff of the armed forces of the countries - members of the Arctic Council.

  • Sergey Lavrov

  • RIA News

  • © Sergey Fadeichev

“This mechanism was functioning, but about seven years ago, our Western colleagues decided to freeze it.

Well, if you decide to freeze, then do not be offended that we have no dialogue - we did not stop the dialogue, ”the Russian Foreign Minister stressed.

Lavrov said that Russia has put forward a proposal to recreate this mechanism.

“As a first step, one can start not at the level of chiefs of general staff, but hold a meeting at the level of military experts from the eight countries of the Arctic Council.

Our offer is on the table.

In Reykjavik, let us also hear how the United States treats this position of ours, ”the minister said.

Challenge rhetoric

Soon after the signing of an additional agreement between the United States and Norway, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the development of Russian military infrastructure in the Arctic and on the coast of the Arctic Ocean would continue.

“It is important to say that the Northern Fleet is constantly practicing the use of fighter aircraft from the airfields of the Arctic archipelagos.

The development of military infrastructure on the Arctic islands and the coast of the Arctic Ocean continues, ”Shoigu said.

He added that the construction of the Temp airfield on the Novosibirsk Islands archipelago is nearing completion.

In turn, the commander of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, in May noted the increased activity of NATO in the Arctic in recent years, where for the first time since the 1940s the ships of the alliance have entered on a regular basis.

"The NATO naval forces have begun the practice of performing regular single and group campaigns of combat surface ships, which, I can state, has practically not happened since the Second World War," RIA Novosti quotes Moiseyev.

According to him, there has been an increase in the duration of the presence of submarines and surface ships of the US Navy in the Barents and Norwegian Seas.

Moiseev also announced an increase in the intensity of operations and combat training of the alliance, while the areas of their implementation are shifting to the Russian borders.

The admiral believes that these actions are provocative and negatively affect the regional security system.

The United States and Western countries perceive the development and strengthening of Russia's Arctic territories as a challenge, so they want to challenge its actions, Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, explained in an interview with RT.

“Today, issues related to climate change, the development of the Northern Sea Route and the enormous wealth of the Arctic are perceived rather sharply in the West, therefore the White House declares that all countries should have access to these resources and territories.

At the same time, the United States does not have an icebreaker fleet, as well as ready troops to defend its interests there.

For them, this is a very important economic reserve, so the West is stepping up its rhetoric on its rights in this region.

However, such statements are not legitimate, ”the expert noted.

  • Russian military in the Arctic

  • RIA News

  • © Pavel Lvov

Western countries deliberately abandoned the dialogue on security in the format of the Arctic Council, hoping that Russia will not have enough funds to ensure the safety of its entire territory, added Andrei Sidorov.

“However, the fact that today Russia is stronger in the Arctic than all Western countries can serve as an argument for them to resume such a mechanism and the dialogue in general. I expect that the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov during the ministerial conference in Reykjavik will largely decide whether the mechanisms in the Arctic Council will be launched or not. If they manage to find some kind of compromise, then this mechanism will be launched. The Biden administration, although it believes that Russia needs to be contained, does not refuse certain contacts, so it can go for it, ”the expert noted.

In turn, Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recalled in a conversation with RT that this year the chairmanship of the Arctic Council will be transferred to Russia, which can use this to resume a dialogue with the United States on security in the region and consider Norway's actions. ...

“The United States is extremely concerned about the growing influence of Russia in the Arctic, as well as the fact that they do not have the technology with which they could effectively counter it in the region.

At the moment, Washington has only two icebreakers that are capable of operating in the northern regions of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The third icebreaker serves as a source of spare parts.

It is for this reason that the United States is trying to shift most of the responsibility and burden onto its allies, in particular Norway, to confront Russia in the Arctic, ”the political scientist said.

The United States and Western countries have stepped up confrontational rhetoric on the Arctic, as it contains huge deposits of oil and natural gas, said Konstantin Blokhin.

“In addition, if the United States previously positioned itself as a country that controls sea communications in the world, then Russia, having created an effective alternative in the form of the Northern Sea Route, has shaken their positions. In this regard, on the part of Washington, we see anger and a desire to make up for lost time. However, the White House administration will fail, because Russia is the dominant force in the Arctic, ”the expert concluded.