WASHINGTON, February 21. /TASS/. NATO member states will seek cooperation with Russia in the Arctic region, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Foreign Policy magazine published on Thursday.

When asked whether NATO should counter "Russian military buildup in the Arctic," the NATO head replied:

"We see increased tensions in the North, but we have to continue to strive for lowering the tensions and build cooperation we have developed with Russia over decades."

"Even during the Cold War, we saw cooperation between NATO allies and the Soviet Union up in the north," he went on. "So we have to be present, but in a proportionate, defensive way."