Grushko stated the West's desire to achieve military superiority in the Arctic

The West will not be able to achieve military superiority in the Arctic, despite its desire to turn the region into a zone of geopolitical competition. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on September 2 at the session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) "Comprehensive solutions to the security issues of the Northern Sea Route and the TTC."

"We cannot help but see the obvious, the obvious is that Western countries have declared the North, including the Arctic region, a zone of geopolitical competition," he said.

Grushko stressed that for the West to succeed in the Arctic, it is necessary to achieve military superiority, but, in his opinion, it will not be possible to do this. As an example, he cited the Baltic region, which in a few years has transformed from a safe and peaceful zone into an arena of open confrontation with high risks of unforeseen incidents.

"They are trying to transfer this approach to the North," the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said.

According to him, the West is unleashing a hybrid war against Russia, which manifests itself in various forms.

"If we talk about the North, it consists not only in military counteraction, in the desire to achieve military superiority, which they will never achieve for many reasons, but also in using other means, primarily economic sanctions," the diplomat concluded.

Grushko stressed that all attempts by the West to achieve a military advantage in the Arctic would not bring results.

Connecting to the North: NATO is preparing for offensive operations in the Arctic

In response, Russia is strengthening its military capabilities in the region and protecting the NSR.

Grushko noted on the sidelines of the WEF a day earlier that Russia is recording the transformation of the Arctic into a zone of military rivalry and the provocative actions of NATO countries in the region. According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance is increasing the number of exercises and flying strategic bombers. In addition, NATO has launched a military operation called the Arctic Sentry and is developing purchases of Arctic-class weapons.

On the same day, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that NATO continues to militarize the Arctic, which increases the risks of escalation in the region. At the same time, he called the Arctic a former region of peaceful and constructive cooperation.