Arctic claims heat up

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned Western countries against staking claims in the Arctic, as global warming makes the region more accessible and a site of global competition.

Mr Lavrov’s comments came ahead of a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council that comprises Russia, the US, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland on Wednesday and Thursday in Reykjavik.

“It has been absolutely clear for everyone for a long time that this is our territory, this is our land,” Mr Lavrov (pictured) said at a press conference in Moscow.

“We are responsible for ensuring our Arctic coast is safe,” he said.

A changing climate is making the Arctic more accessible, spurring interest in the region’s natural resources and its navigation routes. Its strategic position is being seen as increasingly important by members of the Arctic Council, as well as China.

In a speech last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia was “exploiting this change to try to exert control over new space”, including through modernising bases, and also pointed to a growing presence of China.

On Monday, he welcomed Denmark’s plans to boost its military presence in Greenland and the North Atlantic with investments in surveillance drones and a radar station on the Faroe Islands.

President Vladimir Putin in recent years has made Russia’s Arctic region a strategic priority and ordered investment in military infrastructure and mineral extraction, exacerbating tensions with Arctic Council members.

The US, for its part, has pushed back against what it considers Russian and Chinese aggression in the region. In 2018, the US Navy deployed an aircraft carrier in the Norwegian Sea for the first time since the 1980s.

In February, Washington sent strategic bombers to train in Norway as part of Western efforts to bolster its military presence.

Mr Lavrov on Monday said he was emphasising “once again — this is our land and our waters”.

The Russian foreign minister said “we will talk about this frankly” at the eight-country ministerial meeting, and suggested resuming a regular dialogue between military chiefs of member countries.

The Council is expected to issue a final communique and a common strategic plan for the next decade at the end of the meeting.

As ice cover in the Arctic decreases, Russia is hoping to make use of the Northern Sea Route shipping channel to export oil and gas to overseas markets.

Russia has invested heavily to develop the route, which allows ships to cut the journey to Asian ports by 15 days, compared with using the traditional Suez Canal route.

In August 2017, the first vessel travelled along the Northern Sea Route without the use of ice breakers. Moscow has also beefed up its military presence in the region.