The Russian ambassador in Oslo accused Norway and its allies of escalation in the Arctic

Norway, together with its partners in the North Atlantic Alliance, is purposefully pursuing an escalation course in the Arctic region, significantly increasing the overall risks of dangerous incidents. This was announced on July 25 by Nikolai Korchunov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in Oslo.

"However, these mechanisms designed to prevent dangerous incidents are not working in full force, as the Norwegian side and its NATO allies are following the path of escalation in the Arctic, increasing risks and increasing conflict," the diplomat stressed in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The head of the diplomatic mission recalled that consultations of military experts on the implementation of the 1990 bilateral agreement on the prevention of incidents on the high seas were organized in Moscow last December.

Nevertheless, Korchunov stated that given the current commitment of Oslo to the common confrontational vector of the West aimed at trying to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, it is now impossible to conduct a serious and substantive dialogue with foreign colleagues on maintaining stability in the North.

The ambassador added that the parallel build-up of NATO's military presence in the circumpolar latitudes completely undermines trust and devalues the effectiveness of previously established communication channels between the defense departments.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on July 16 that European states were deliberately sabotaging a potential dialogue with Moscow, despite their numerous populist statements. According to her, representatives of the European Union regularly declare in public their alleged interest in a diplomatic settlement, but their real practical steps exclude the possibility of dialogue.

On May 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of an "anti-ballistic coalition" in Europe. He noted that the meeting he held earlier in the day was attended by national security advisers from 13 European countries, as well as a representative of the office of the NATO Secretary General. The head of the Kiev regime called it "an important, very valuable initiative."