MOSCOW, March 27 (Reuters) - Russia plans to boost its military presence in the Arctic to ensure security in the vast mineral-rich region, the Kremlin said in a strategy document published this week.
Russia, whose economy depends on exports of oil, gas and
metals, has previously staked its claim to part of the Arctic
shelf which experts say has huge mineral reserves.
The document said Moscow would create new troop formations
in the Arctic zone “capable of ensuring military security in
different military and political situations”.
It did not specify the number of troops to be deployed.
The paper, outlining Russian Arctic policy until 2020, was
signed by President Dmitry Medvedev on Sept. 18 last year but
published only this week by the country’s Security Council.
“Russia’s state policy in the Arctic in the medium term
perspective is to preserve her role as a leading Arctic power,”
said the document, posted on the Security Council’s website
www.scrf.gov.ru.
Russia, the world’s biggest country, is in a race with NATO
members Canada, Denmark, Norway and the United States to control
reserves of oil, gas and precious metals that could become more
accessible if the Arctic ice cap shrinks because of climate
change.
Russia says a swath of the Arctic seabed should belong to it
because it is really an extension of the Siberian continental
shelf. Moscow has filed a claim to the United Nation’s body
dealing with such issues.
The Security Council issued a separate statement on Friday
saying Russia did not plan to militarise the Arctic and Moscow
wanted simply to make its borders more secure.
The strategy paper said Russia planned to boost border guard
numbers “to bring them in line with the character of threats and
challenges to the Russian Federation in the Arctic” and increase
control of shipping routes in the region.
It gave no details of the type of threat and Security
Council officials could not be reached for comment.
Russia has said it is nervous about what it says is the
militarisation of the Arctic.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer asked in
January whether the Western military alliance should increase
its focus on the region.
Russian officials say the Arctic seabed has between 9 and 10
billion tonnes of fuel equivalent, about the same as Russia’s
total known current oil reserves.
The policy document said Russia wanted in the period 2016 to
2020 to ensure “the transformation of the Arctic zone into the
main strategic resource base of the Russian Federation”.
(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by
Andrew Dobbie)
