Russia will not militarize Arctic, Russia's actions restrained but necessary - Putin
MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Russia is not going to militarize the Arctic, its actions in this region are restrained but necessary, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"Once again I will stress that we are not going to militarize the Arctic. Our actions in this region are restrained and reasonable in scale, but absolutely necessary for ensuring Russia's defensive capability," Putin told an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry collegium on Friday.
In 2015, we need to complete the creation of military infrastructure on Novaya Zemlya, the Kotelny and Wrangel Islands and Mys Shmidta (the Schmidt Cape), he said. "I am asking you to keep these matters under your permanent control," the president told senior defense officials.
