Washington is worried over a possible threat to the US that emanates from the Russian Northern Fleet as Moscow is “seeking to expand its military presence” in the Arctic, an American newspaper has reported.
“The fear is that a modernized Russian Northern Fleet could swing down through the straits between Greenland, Iceland and Britain, a move known in NATO as a ‘red right hook,’ to cut sea lanes and underwater cables and threaten the American East Coast with cruise missiles,” the newspaper claimed.
According to the media outlet, Russia remains “a vast Arctic power, with naval bases and nuclear missiles stationed in the Far North but also along Russia’s western edge: in the Kola Peninsula, near Norway, where Russia keeps most of its nuclear-armed submarines.”
The newspaper argued that climate change had led to a situation where shipping routes are becoming “less icebound and easier to navigate, making the Arctic more accessible and attractive for competitive commercial exploitation, as well as military adventurism.”
The report comes as Moscow and St. Petersburg are hosting the 2023 International Arctic Summit. “The Arctic: Prospects, Innovations and Regional Development” summit is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Soviet government’s decision to turn Russia’s Northern Sea Route into an officially managed and administered shipping line along the country’s Arctic coast.
In November 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country prioritizes and seeks broader international cooperation for the development of territories in the Arctic and research activities in the Antarctic.
“Our country has always given priority to harmonious and comprehensive development of the Arctic, enhancement of our research activities in the Antarctic. We seek to strengthen international cooperation in these regions of our planet and implement joint programs in different spheres," Putin said in an address to participants of the international forum Days of Arctic and Antarctic in Moscow.
This followed Putin stressing that the Arctic would play a bigger role in Russia's future, which is why the country would redouble engagement with its northernmost regions.
The remarks were preceded by the Russian Foreign Ministry pledging that the country will boost its defense capability in the Arctic amid NATO's growing presence in the region.
"Russia is taking and will continue to take all the necessary measures to ensure national interests and strengthen the defense capability in the Arctic, a strategic region for our country. Political, economic and military-technical measures. With time, their specific content will become known," Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second European Department Sergey Belyaev told Sputnik.