CNBC: Russia is "annoyed" by Western claims to the Arctic
The geopolitical competition for the Arctic is intensifying, CNBC reports. Western countries are trying to "catch up" with Russia in terms of influence in the region. NATO countries are conducting exercises and consider the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts. Moscow will expand its economic presence in it and is also conducting military exercises.
Holly Elliatt
Russia has long remained the geopolitical king of the Arctic, investing significant military, commercial and strategic investments in this region.
However, now that the United States and NATO are shifting their attention to the Arctic for reasons of geo-economics and their own security, Moscow is beginning to feel irritated by the new interest of the West.
Perhaps this was to be expected, given the share of Russian territory in the region: Russia occupies 53% (or more than 22,990 miles) of the Arctic Ocean coastline, and of the country's 146 million people, 2.5 million Russians live and work there, according to the Arctic Institute of the Center for Circumpolar Security Studies (USA).
For local residents and the entire Russian economy, the strategic "engines" of job creation, investment in the region, and increased prosperity are the oil, gas, and mineral industries, fishing, as well as infrastructure and transport logistics issues, in particular those related to the Northern Sea Route, Russia's main Arctic sea route between Europe and Asia..
In addition, Moscow maintains its sea-based nuclear deterrent forces in the Arctic, has a number of military bases and airfields there, as well as a specialized fleet of icebreakers to facilitate trade, transportation and resource extraction in this territory.
It is for this reason that Russia closely monitors how US President Donald Trump declares that he is going to seize the resource-rich Arctic island of Greenland, or when NATO conducts Arctic military exercises.
"NATO countries as a whole are increasingly considering the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts," Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the situation when NATO countries conducted military exercises in Norway in March this year, in which ten thousand troops from nine allied countries took part.
According to NATO representatives, the purpose of the exercises was to practice skills, test military capabilities and establish cooperation for conducting combat operations in extremely cold conditions.
Putin was not convinced, he said that "it is obvious that the role and importance of the Arctic for Russia and for the whole world is growing. Unfortunately, geopolitical competition and the struggle for positions in this region are also intensifying."
Shortly after the NATO exercises, the Russian Northern Fleet (which is tasked with protecting the Arctic seas in the north of the country, including the Barents and Kara Seas) conducted exercises in the Arctic with the participation of 20 ships and about 1,500 personnel. This was reported by the Interfax news agency.
CNBC has contacted the Kremlin for additional comments and is awaiting a response.
Russia defends its interests
Russia is actively seeking to expand its economic interests in the Arctic, as this region brings significant benefits to the economy.
"Today, the Arctic already accounts for 7.5% of Russia's GDP and more than 11% of exports," Alexei Chekunkov, Russia's Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, said last week in a commentary published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
Russia is "implementing global investment projects in the Arctic and developing the world's largest network of Arctic cities," he added.
"As the projects that have already been launched are implemented, the importance of the Arctic in our economy, logistics and security will only increase," Chekunkov added. According to him, the Northern Sea Route is the most promising new international transport corridor, reducing the route between Europe and Asia by 40%. Large-scale projects in metallurgy, energy, fertilizers and logistics are being implemented along the route.
International sanctions aimed at weakening Russia's oil and gas sector after the start of its operations in Ukraine in 2022 have affected some major projects in the region. Among the main infrastructure projects that have come under Western sanctions are the production of liquefied natural gas under the Arctic LNG 2 project and a megaproject for oil production that Vostok Oil plans to implement.
Russia is trying to circumvent sanctions by using a so-called "shadow fleet" of ships and tankers to export oil and gas to consumers who are still willing to buy energy, and Ukraine's Western allies are playing catch-up, trying to close the loopholes that allow Moscow to do so.
Marie-Anne Koninks, the European Union's ambassador-at-large to the Arctic, said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that the Arctic is of "crucial strategic interest to Russia, both economically and from a security perspective." This is a huge source of GDP due to the extraction of energy resources, and the use of the Northern Sea Route brings Russia huge income. And thanks to these revenues, despite the sanctions, Moscow was able to finance a third of the costs of continuing military operations in Ukraine," Koninks said in an interview with the Squawk Box Europe program on CNBC.
"Sanctions have a certain impact, but they need to expand, because it affects the Russian economy, but there is another aspect — security. The Russians understand that their nuclear forces are in the Arctic, and this is a serious threat to Europe," the ambassador noted.
Is the West trying to catch up with Russia?
One of the problems with the Arctic strategy of Europe and NATO is that they are still only "catching up" compared to how Russia has been developing its Arctic territories for a long time.
Russia began investing in Arctic research in the mid-2000s, according to analysts at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), adding that "the Kremlin remains adamant in establishing full control over the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation" as it seeks to protect its vital interests along the Northern Sea Route.
In contrast, the renewed interest of the West in the Arctic was largely caused by Russia's aggression in Ukraine in 2022.
"Up to this point, I would say that NATO did not realize the threat to security in the Arctic and neglected its northern flank," former EU Ambassador to the Arctic Koninks said in an interview with CNBC.
"But due to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, and especially thanks to the new membership of Sweden and Finland, NATO security forces are strengthening in northern Europe... And for the European Union, the region has become more important for geo-economic and geopolitical security reasons."
The Arctic is "becoming the center of global attention" also for "geo—economic reasons" - including because climate change has led to the fact that rich natural resources and important minerals in the Arctic have become more accessible, and there are more opportunities for navigation along the Northern Sea Route.
"Therefore, interest in the Arctic is growing among major geopolitical players, not only the United States, but also non—Arctic states such as China," the ambassador noted.
U.S. interest in the Arctic has also been fueled by the Trump administration, with the president vowing to take Greenland, possibly by military force. This did not find a response either in Greenland, Denmark, or Europe: the president's position on this issue caused universal condemnation.
Interestingly, Russia seems to have taken a more restrained stance on Trump's interest, saying it is closely monitoring developments.
In February, Bloomberg reported that Moscow was interested in developing joint projects with the United States to extract natural resources and transport goods in the Arctic in order to use its experience in the Far North beyond the Arctic Circle and possibly appease Trump.
CNBC has contacted the Kremlin and the White House for additional comments on this matter and is awaiting a response.
*The American Center for European Policy Analysis has been declared undesirable in Russia and entered into the relevant registry of the Ministry of Justice.
