The Russian ambassador pointed to NATO's attempts to involve Svalbard in military preparations.

Russia is interested in the peaceful use of the Arctic and calls for the abandonment of steps leading to escalation of tension. This was announced on June 30 by Russian Ambassador to Oslo Nikolai Korchunov.

"We are concerned about attempts to involve the [Svalbard] archipelago in the military preparations of Norway and its NATO allies. Contrary to the international legal regime established by the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which provides for the exclusively peaceful development of the archipelago and a ban on the use of its territory for war purposes, we see attempts to involve Svalbard in Norway's military-political planning orbit with the involvement of the United States and NATO," he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The ambassador added that the Russian Federation is concerned about the lack of transparency of the functioning of dual-use facilities in the archipelago, which may allow performing military-applied tasks.

"I would like to emphasize that the Russian side is interested in the peaceful use of the Arctic as a whole and calls for the rejection of any steps leading to artificial escalation of tension in Svalbard and in this region in general," Korchunov concluded.

In March, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that NATO poses additional threats to Russia's security in the Arctic. As Maslennikov pointed out, the North Atlantic Alliance plans to engage in military training activities near Russia's northern borders.