Putin: Russia needs Arctic presence to guard against U.S. threat

Alexei Anishchuk
The Star On-line
December 3, 2013

source: the telegraph

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia had vital defence and economic interests in the Arctic, citing a potential U.S. military threat from submarine-based missiles there.

Russia detained 30 Greenpeace activists protesting against Arctic drilling at Russian Prirazlomnaya offshore platform in September and they now face charges carrying seven-year jail sentences, underlining Moscow’s strong interest in the Arctic.

Putin has ordered a Soviet-era military base reopened in the Arctic as part of a drive to make the northern coast a global shipping route and secure the region’s vast energy resources.

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