Marta Hychko17:42, 09/20/24

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that the country is ready “to defend its interests in the military, political and defense-technological terms.”

Russia is ready for a potential conflict with NATO in the Arctic , said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country Serhiy Lavrov, Politico informs .

“We see how NATO is intensifying exercises related to possible crises in the Arctic. Our country is fully ready to defend its interests in military, political and defense-technological terms,” ​​Lavrov said.

The announcement was another display of military rhetoric from the Kremlin, which has repeatedly threatened the use of force against NATO and its allies, including the possibility of nuclear conflict.

The Arctic is the northernmost point of the Earth, and its territories belong to eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Canada, the USA, Iceland and Russia. All countries, except Russia, are members of NATO.

Finland joined NATO last April following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Sweden joined the alliance in March this year, bringing NATO’s membership to 32.

Lavrov also emphasized that “the Arctic is not NATO territory” and emphasized that other countries such as China and India have their own interests in the region.

Earlier, one of Moscow’s high-ranking officials warned that Finland would “suffer the worst” in the event of a war between NATO and Russia.

In February, Russia suspended its participation in the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum that includes Arctic countries. This was the result of a boycott by other participants after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Despite this, some cooperation was partially restored.

(C)UNIAN 2024