Russia sees 'no grounds' for conflict in Arctic

REYKJAVIK— Moscow said on Thursday it saw "no grounds" for conflict in the Arctic but warned the West about militarising on Russia's doorstep.

The two sides have recently increased their military posturing, with the United States sending bombers to Norway and Russia conducting large maritime and air exercises.

"We have highlighted at the meeting that we see no grounds for conflict here. Even more so for any development of military programmes of some blocks here," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters Thursday at the close of an Arctic Council meeting in Iceland.

"And we are satisfied to note that our partners agree with us on this," he said, as Moscow took over the two-year rotating chairmanship of the forum that also includes the United States and six other countries bordering the Arctic.

Despite largely consensual remarks from the foreign ministers at the meeting and pledges of US-Russian "cooperation" in the region, Lavrov drew some clear lines, reflecting the mounting geopolitical stakes in the vast territory.

He said he would discuss directly on Thursday with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide Oslo's moves to "reinforce [its] military presence close to our borders".

Lavrov accused NATO of putting US troops on "constant rotation" in Europe to avoid "permanent" deployments, barred under agreements governing relations between NATO and the West.

During their first meeting under the new US administration, Lavrov on Wednesday warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken against any deployment of additional forces in Poland, noting that doing so would violate the 1997 treaty on relations between Russia and NATO.

"We are going to undertake necessary measures in order to ensure our security," Lavrov stressed on Thursday.

Clearly keen to maintain a tone of cooperation and appeasement, he swiftly added: "But our priority and our preference really is dialogue. And that is exactly what we discussed yesterday with Antony Blinken."