Brussels, 19 October. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas told The Times that the European Union will counter Russia and China in the Arctic and seek unrestricted access to the Northern Sea Route.
The newspaper headlined her view that the West must stop China and Russia from dominating the Arctic. As early as September, Kallas said Russia was restoring military bases in the Arctic and conducting missile drills there.
Moscow reacted sharply: Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Department, said the EU was showing an intention to take the path of escalation in the Arctic and was not ready to stop politicising cooperation in the high latitudes.
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane along Russia's Arctic coast from the Kara Sea to the Bering Strait. It is considerably shorter than the route from Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal, but it is not open all year round and runs through waters where Russia considers itself entitled to regulate shipping, requiring permits and icebreaker escort. The unrestricted access Kallas speaks of would mean sailing without Russian permits.
As the ice melts, the Arctic is becoming both a transport and a resource region, so it is contested not only by coastal states. The European Union intends to counter the dominance of Russia and China in the region.
Background: Since 2018 China has called itself a "near-Arctic" state, and Russia and China are moving closer in Arctic affairs as well.
List of sources used: TASS, The Times, UNN, RT, Asia Times
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
