Russia will reopen a military
base in the New Siberian Islands, an Arctic archipelago north of
Yakutia, to secure control of the strategic region, Russian President
Vladimir Putin said Monday.“Our forces left the area in 1993, and in the meantime it has become a very important point in the Arctic Ocean, a new stage in the
development of the Northern Sea Route,” Putin told a meeting of Defense
Ministry officials.Putin said Russia “will not only reinstate the military base in this
area, but will also restore the airfield and allow for collaborative
work with representatives of the Emergency Situations Ministry,
hydrologists and climate experts to ensure security and efficient
operation of the Northern Sea Route."Under international law, the Arctic belongs to no single country, but the huge area is strategically important for northern hemisphere
countries and is believed to contain huge quantities of hydrocarbons and other minerals.Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday that the arrival of a Russian naval task force at the New Siberian Islands signaled the return of a
permanent Russian military presence in the Arctic Region.“Two days ago, a naval task force from the Northern Fleet began major exercises around the New Siberian Islands. We arrived there, or, more
accurately, we have returned there forever,” Deputy Defense Minister
Arkady Bakhin said after a meeting chaired by Defense Minister Sergei
Shoigu.
The Russian task force is led by the heavy nuclear-powered
guided-missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, and includes the large amphibious
assault ships Olenegorsky Gornyak and Kondopoga and a variety of other
support vessels. The group of ships will take part in exercises around
the New Siberian Islands, which are located between the Laptev Sea and
the East Siberia Sea, Bakhin said.The Northern Sea Route is a transport corridor along Russia’s
northern coast linking Europe and Asia. The route is becoming
increasingly open to commercial traffic as the climate warms and Arctic
sea ice retreats.Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said late last year that Russia risked losing its sovereignty by the mid-21st century if it does not assert its national interests in the Arctic today.
WORLD SHIPPING
16 September 2013 - 20:02
Russia Reopens Military Base to Control Key Part of Arctic – Putin
Russia will reopen a military base in the New Siberian Islands, an Arctic archipelago north of Yakutia, to secure control of the strategic region
WORLD SHIPPING
16 September 2013 - 20:02
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