“The Arctic is not the territory of the North Atlantic alliance,” Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns.

Russia is “fully ready” for a conflict with NATO in the Arctic, the country’s foreign minister warned.

“We see NATO stepping up drills related to possible crises in the Arctic,” Sergey Lavrov said, according to Russian state media, in comments for a documentary series that were first reported Friday.

“Our country is fully ready to defend its interests militarily, politically and from the standpoint of defense technologies," he added.

His comments mark the latest round of saber-rattling by the Kremlin, which has repeatedly… threatened … to … unleash … nuclear … war on NATO and its allies in recent years.

The Arctic is the northernmost point on Earth and includes territory belonging to eight nations: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Canada, the United States, Iceland and Russia. All except Russia are NATO members.

    • Archelon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 months ago

      https://geology.com/articles/arctic-oil-and-gas/

      This makes the Arctic an incredibly rich area. It is about the same geographic size as the African Continent - about 6% of Earth’s surface area - yet it holds an estimated 22 percent of Earth’s oil and natural gas resource.

      https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01087-6

      A more accessible Arctic will create new opportunities for shorter, potentially more economical, northern maritime trade routes imagined by global leaders for centuries.

      Not to mention the strategic use of the Arctic, aka, the reason NORAD is a thing.

      • el_bhm@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        Oh, look, similar reasons Ukraine got attacked. Who is russia rescuing now? Is russian ice endangered?

      • Jumi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        But still, I can’t imagine fighting in an inhospitable and remote area like that would be worth the cost whatever the price is.