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Russia concerned over NATO’s activity to militarize Arctic, says security chief

Moscow favors unconditionally preserving the Arctic as a zone of peace and international cooperation, Nikolai Patrushev stressed

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. Russia is concerned over NATO’s activity to militarize the Arctic and favors preserving that region as a zone of peace and international cooperation, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said on Thursday.

"NATO’s activity for militarizing the Arctic, especially the deployment of new military infrastructure elements in that region cannot but cause concern," the Russian security chief said at the Moscow Conference on International Security.

Moscow favors unconditionally preserving the Arctic as a zone of peace and international cooperation, and also ensuring constructive interaction in bilateral and multilateral formats with all states based on international treaties and agreements, Patrushev emphasized.

"We will build our policy as part of our chairmanship in the Arctic Council precisely in this manner," the secretary of Russia’s Security Council said.

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