Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said NATO and Western countries were trying to turn the Arctic into a new front aimed at limiting Russia’s development. In Lavrov’s remarks, military activity in the region emerged as the main threat to Moscow’s security.
Lavrov said preserving the Arctic as an area of international cooperation and a zone of peace was in the interest of the entire international community. He said Russia supported this approach, but argued that NATO countries were generally moving toward militarizing the region and creating new areas of international tension.
NATO’s military activities in the Arctic
Lavrov noted that NATO had launched Operation Arctic Sentry in February 2026 with the aim of expanding its military presence at high latitudes.
The Russian foreign minister said military preparations had intensified near his country’s northern borders. Lavrov also said large-scale exercises involving non-regional countries had been held and that new elements had been added to NATO’s command-and-control structure.
Lavrov said this military activity posed a direct threat to Russia’s security and increased the likelihood of incidents that could develop into armed conflict and have serious consequences.
Lavrov argued that Western countries were deliberately creating an atmosphere of insecurity in the military sphere. He claimed that financial and economic sanctions imposed on individuals and organizations involved in Arctic projects were intended to undermine Russia’s rights in international cooperation.
Russia’s condition for the Arctic Council
According to Lavrov, the West’s anti-Russian policy had prevented multilateral cooperation mechanisms in the Arctic from functioning. Lavrov said some mechanisms had ended, while others had largely lost their meaning without Russia’s participation.
Lavrov said the Arctic Council, established approximately 30 years ago, was the only intergovernmental format to have remained in existence since September 19, 1996. He announced that Russia was ready for the Council to resume full operations if a fair working approach was adopted that mutually respected the legitimate interests of all parties.
The Russian foreign minister argued that NATO countries’ attempts to discuss Arctic issues among themselves without Russia could discredit and marginalize the Arctic Council. In such a case, he noted, Russia had territory, logistical capabilities, technologies and partners in the region with whom it could cooperate on projects based on mutual benefit.
Moscow’s Arctic plans
Lavrov said Russia held a leading position in the Arctic region. He said the melting of polar ice as a result of climate change could improve transportation opportunities and access to resources.
Lavrov said that, as disruptions to logistics chains at sea routes critical to the international economy continued, the Arctic was becoming more important for sustainable commercial links. He added that the region’s strategic importance for Russia’s national interests and security would increase.
Lavrov said Russia would continue comprehensive development efforts at high latitudes and the development of Arctic infrastructure. He added that they would continue to regard Arctic maritime areas as an integral part of the World Ocean in terms of economic activity.
Lavrov recalled that the special rights and responsibilities of coastal states in the Arctic were regulated by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said these rights and responsibilities had also been reaffirmed in the 2008 Ilulissat Declaration by the Arctic Five, comprising Russia, Denmark, Canada, Norway and the United States.
The Russian foreign minister said they did not need new international legal instruments to regulate economic and other activities at high latitudes. He announced that Moscow would preserve the comprehensive and pragmatic nature of its Arctic policy.
Lavrov said they supported the Arctic becoming an integral part of a common area of security and cooperation in Eurasia. Arguing that the language of sanctions and threats would not produce results in relations with Russia, Lavrov said Russia preferred constructive dialogue but would protect its national interests by all available means.
Lavrov said Russia was open to all partners ready to participate in Arctic projects on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. He listed the priority areas as developing natural resources; operating the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor and the Northern Sea Route; establishing industrial, transport and tourism infrastructure; improving the well-being of the region’s population; protecting the northern environment; and conducting scientific research.
