EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas should keep Russia’s naval presence in the Arctic in mind before making threats over the Northern Sea Route, Russian Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, has warned.
His remarks came in response to Kallas’s recent statement that the European Union intends to compete with Russia and China for influence over the Arctic shipping route. She urged Brussels to take a more active role in the region and coordinate its efforts more closely with the United States and Canada.
Dzhabarov argued that Kallas should take a closer look at the region’s geography before laying claim to maritime routes that, in his view, belong to Russia. He pointed out that the Northern Sea Route passes through Russian territorial waters.
Speaking to Abzats, the senator also warned that the EU should not underestimate Russia’s Northern Fleet, which maintains a presence at the beginning of the Arctic shipping route. He claimed that no individual European country could match its military capabilities, even with the combined forces of NATO’s European members.
Dzhabarov also criticized Kallas’s confrontational rhetoric toward Moscow, accusing her of contributing to further tensions between Russia and the European Union.
Rather than issuing threats and pursuing confrontation in the Arctic, he argued, Brussels should focus on finding ways to restore dialogue with Moscow.