Russia warns NATO advancing towards confrontation in strategic Arctic region

In August, last year, the United States for the first time announced that it is establishing an ambassador at large to further American interests and cooperation with Allies and partners in the crucial strategic region of the Arctic. As one of the eight Arctic nations, the US maintained that it is vital Washington preserves its own national security interests in the region, combats climate change, fosters sustainable investment, and promotes cooperation with the Arctic States.

Separately, in an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper, the North Atlantic Alliance [NATO] military Alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said that it is critical that the defense bloc prioritises its military presence in the far-flung Arctic archipelago. He expressed concerns about Russia's increasing military presence in the polar region viewed as a “territory of dialogue" for the last three decades, adding that the Arctic is of strategic importance and NATO "must increase its presence [there]".

Russian military's Pansyr-S1 air defense system fires at a practice target during a military drill on Kotelny Island, part of the New Siberian Islands archipelago located between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea. Credit: AP

Abound in offshore oil and gas reserves—A region of geopolitical intrigue

The high north, a region abounding in offshore oil and gas reserves, has not only turned into a region of geopolitical intrigue but a game-changer for global security in recent years, particularly after Russia launched a military offensive in Europe's eastern flank. But more so, it has turned into a region of flexing military muscle between NATO and Russia since Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out military intervention in neighbouring Ukraine. In the interview with a German newspaper, Stoltenberg acknowledged that NATO is now investing heavily in maritime reconnaissance aircraft in order to get surveillance of what is going on in the far north. "But we will continue to step up our efforts," he continued.

A radar facility on Kotelny Island. Credit: AP

China, Moscow's staunchest ally, also views itself as a "near-Arctic" nation and has drafted a plan to embark on construction in the region of a 'Polar Silk Road' under its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative [BRI]. Russia, in the meanwhile, has started the world’s first “combat icebreaker” to train soldiers for cold weather warfare as NATO conducts joint drills to repel a simulated invasion in the far remote region. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also underlined the region’s strategic importance for broader Euro-Atlantic security, reiterating that the Arctic is the shortest path to North America for Russian missiles or bombers over the North Pole. 

Bastion anti-ship missile systems take positions on the Alexandra Land island near Nagurskoye, Russia. Credit: AP

An Icebreaker makes the path for a cargo ship with an iceberg in the background near a port on the Alexandra Land island near Nagurskoye. Credit: AP

As the race for Arctic hegemony picks up the threads, Russia's Foreign Ministry ambassador-at-large Nikolay Korchunov on Saturday, May 13, warned in an interview with the state-affiliated agency Tass that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s actions may lead to a dramatic escalation in the Arctic region. "We see no signs of improvement with regard to military security in the Arctic," the Russian ambassador-at-large for the Arctic stressed. He pointed out that NATO's military expansion has been continuing in the region and that the scope of the alliance’s military exercises" is on the rise". Russia's ambassador maintained that NATO exercises have the non-Arctic member states actively participate in them. "Their military potential in high latitudes continues to grow," he stressed. 

Western countries are enhancing their course towards adversarial relations, confrontation and promotion of their own interests in the Arctic, to the detriment of other countries’ interests, the Russian diplomat told the Russian state affiliated agency.

Under those circumstances, we cannot rule out the possibility of escalation in this region.

Russian military's Bastion missile launchers are seen moving toward the Severny Klever (Northern Clover) Russian military base on Kotelny Island. Credit: AP

Russia— a strategic Arctic enemy

Russia's Korchunov brought back the focus on the fact that scores of NATO-aligned nations mentioned Russia as a strategic enemy in the region. "A number of strategic documents of some Arctic countries portray the Russian Federation as an adversary and a threat to their security," he iterated. During the Arctic Circle Assembly, last year, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Bauer remarked that the rule-based order in the Arctic has been uprooted and that NATO is responding by implementing measures to strengthen the bloc's collective defence. It is interesting to note that at least seven of the eight members of the Arctic Council are NATO Allies. Admiral Bauer said that with this level of integration, NATO "will be able to better determine NATO’s role in the High North as well as benefit from more assets in the region". 

Il-76 military cargo plane on Alexandra Land, an island near Nagurskoye, Russia. Credit: AP

With growing assertiveness, and bolstered military presence, Kremlin has been solidifying its position as the dominant power in the Arctic. In the past, it conducted a gargantuan military drill involving an estimated 12,000 soldiers, 5 nuclear submarines, 15 warships, the nuclear-powered battle cruiser “Pyotr Velikiy,” and at least 100 fighter jets.

Troy Bouffard, director of the Arctic Security and Defense Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, believes that Russia's President Vladimir Putin "sees the Arctic playing a vital role in Moscow’s return as a great power and is propelling all-out efforts to guard its economic interests there", based on USNI's analysis. This is contrary to what the ex-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev envisioned in October 1987, as he launched policy initiatives aimed at lowering the level of military confrontation in the Arctic by facilitating dialogue among the eight Arctic states: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States.