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Russian envoy points to NATO’s increasing interference in economic cooperation in Arctic

Russia’s Senior Arctic Official to the Arctic Council also highlighted Russia's concernes about "the West’s provocative rhetoric and the increasing involvement of the Alliance" in the regional affairs

Russian Foreign Ministry Roman Kanacshuk/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry

© Roman Kanacshuk/TASS

MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Alliance is increasingly interfering in economic cooperation of other countries in the Arctic, Nikolay Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large for the Russian Foreign Ministry and Russia’s Senior Arctic Official to the Arctic Council, told TASS on Saturday.

"Of course, we cannot but be concerned about the [West’s] provocative rhetoric and the increasing involvement of the North Atlantic Alliance, with this military bloc increasingly interfering in the economy and peaceful cooperation of others for the sake of sustainable development of the region," he said.

The Russian diplomat pointed to the fact that Western partners had been using the words `deterrence’, `pushback’, and `confrontation’ in their comments on the region of late.

"Certainly, this does not inspire much optimism, since we traditionally view the Arctic as a zone of peace, low military and political tensions, and constructive cooperation," he underscored.

Tags

Foreign policy Russian Foreign Ministry NATO Arctic

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