MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. The updated Arctic Strategy presented by the Pentagon confirms US plans to decide the region’s future by force, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
"We have read the updated Arctic Strategy that the US Department of Defense published the other day. The document is clearly aimed at escalating military and political tensions in the region, as if what Washington has already done is not enough. The Pentagon’s updated strategy, adopted soon after the NATO summit in Washington, makes it clear that using force to ensure the US’ interests in the region is America’s main strategy in the Arctic," the Russian diplomat pointed out.
According to Zakharova, until recently, the region "was an area of peaceful and constructive cooperation, which produced results."
The diplomat noted that the strategy enshrined "the US military agency’s unscrupulous intervention in affairs related to Arctic cooperation between other countries." "This stems from the ideas that are promoted these days, with Washington expressing concern about Russia-China cooperation, this time in the Arctic region," she went on to say. "Notably, unlike non-Arctic NATO members, including the UK and Germany, China pursues a policy of military restraint towards high-latitude areas, refraining from fueling additional tensions, but the US strategy does not take this fact into account," Zakharova said.
She added that Russia-China cooperation was not directed against third countries, while the goals enshrined in the US military strategy provided for US allies' involvement in confrontation with Russia and China.
According to the US updated Arctic Strategy, the region "is becoming a venue for strategic competition" amid a new geopolitical climate. The document specifically states that major geopolitical changes "are driving the need for this new strategic approach to the Arctic." According to the Pentagon, these changes include the Ukraine crisis, the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO and "increasing collaboration between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia," as well as "the accelerating impacts of climate change."