Geopolitical rivalries are intensifying in the Arctic, but cooperation in the region is possible, including between Moscow and Western states, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Alluding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated intention to acquire Greenland, Putin said this had nothing to do with Russia but that it was clear that the U.S. would continue to promote its interests in the Arctic.
U.S. designs on Greenland were serious and had long historical roots, he said.
Russia was concerned that “NATO countries in general are increasingly designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts,” he said, and Russia was monitoring the situation and preparing an appropriate response.
“It is obvious that the role and importance of the Arctic both for Russia and for the whole world is growing. But unfortunately, geopolitical competition, the struggle for positions in this region, is also intensifying,” he said.
Putin, who is keen to ramp up commerce via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) through Arctic waters as Russia shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe because of Western sanctions, said Russia had never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but was prepared to defend its interests.
Foreign partners prepared to cooperate with Russia in the region would be guaranteed a good investment return, he said in a major speech in the northern city of Murmansk.
Putin called for an expansion of Russia’s northern ports and the building of a merchant fleet in the Arctic, supported by new-generation icebreakers including nuclear-powered ones.
But he said Russia’s domestic capabilities were insufficient for this at the moment, and that it would also require buying vessels and interacting with foreign shipbuilders.
The Arctic holds fossil fuels and minerals beneath the land and the seabed that could become more accessible with global warming. It is also an area of military competition, where defense analysts say Russia has built up its presence much faster than the West by reopening Soviet-era bases and modernizing its navy.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Dmitry Antonov, Maxim Rodionov and Andrew Osborn; Writing by Alexander Marrow and Mark TrevelyanEditing by Andrew Osborn)
