According to the report, a 13-country bloc agreed on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministerial meeting in Brussels to promote the Northlink initiative to expand space communications systems in the Arctic using existing commercial satellites.
Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev said in early September that Washington and its allies are escalating the situation along Russia's borders, constantly checking its defense capability. He said Washington has taken a course toward militarizing the Arctic and obstructing Russian economic activity in the north.