Russia Re-Opening Soviet-Era Military Bases In Arctic, Kallas Says

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said this while speaking to journalists ahead of the European Arctic Summit in Finland on Monday, Ukrinform reports.

She noted that Russia is“opening ex-Soviet military bases, doing the missile testing here, in the Far North, showing clearly that this is a very important area.”

Kallas added that climate change is opening up new maritime routes that are becoming“increasingly important for the rest of the world.”

“The increasing power competition is truly unique here,” the EU High Representative stressed.

She separately noted that security and the environment are interconnected in certain respects, as Russia's shadow fleet, among other threats it poses, is an“ecological bomb.”

Read also: Kallas: Russia attacks train near Polish border to“scare” Europ

As reported by Ukrinform, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo invited a group of EU leaders to the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi on September 13–14.

The summit is attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Romanian President Nicușor Dan, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.

Also attending are European Council President António Costa, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, and European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela.

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