Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times,
NATO military activity in the Arctic poses a direct threat to Russia's security and could lead to disastrous consequences, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wrote in an article published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday.
A Russian soldier stands guard beside a Pansyr-S1 air defense system on Kotelny Island, part of the New Siberian Islands archipelago located between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea, in Russia on April 3, 2019. Vladimir Isachenkov/APIn February, NATO conducted Arctic Sentry, a large-scale military exercise in the Arctic and High North regions, amid concerns over the threat posed by both Russia and China. Russia, which has a naval fleet in the Arctic that includes nuclear-armed submarines dating back to the Soviet era, has long viewed the region as its sphere of interest.
"Intensive military preparations are underway in close proximity to our northern borders," Lavrov said. "NATO is conducting large-scale military exercises involving non-regional countries and introducing new components of its command-and-control system."
He said such activity increases the "risk of incidents that could trigger an armed confrontation with potentially disastrous consequenc
