Ukraine War Russia Warns of ‘Unintended Incidents’ as NATO Increases Military Activity in the Arctic
Nikolai Korchunov, the Russian chair of the Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic Officials, is pictured at an SAO plenary meeting. (Screenshot)
"Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of "unintended incidents" occurring in the region", TASS news agency cited Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolai Korchunov saying.
Nikolai Korchunov, who currently chairs the Arctic Council's Senior Arctic Officials, did not specify what type of incident he might be referring to.
This is reported by Reuters on Sunday.
In March, Finland and Sweden, which are both considering joining the US-led military NATO alliance, conducted combined NATO military drills. The exercise was long planned, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 added intensity to the situation.
“The recent increase in NATO’s activity in the Arctic is a cause for concern,” said Korchunov, who is also the current chair of the Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic Officials, during Russia’s current tenure in the council’s year rotating chair.
“Another large-scale military exercise of the alliance was recently held in northern Norway. In our view, this does not contribute to the security of the region.”
According to Korchunov, such activity raises the risk of “unintended incidents,” which, in addition to security risks, can also cause serious damage to the Arctic ecosystem.
