NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, while referring to Russia's recent activities in the Arctic, said the organization must increase its presence there.
"NATO must increase its presence in the Arctic," Stoltenberg told the German outlet Welt am Sonntag.
According to Welt am Sonntag, Russia is in the process of reopening old Soviet-era bases at the North Pole while positioning new, state-of-the-art weapons such as hypersonic missiles there.
According to Politico, the region is shared among a number of countries, including the United States, Canada, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Russia.
China has voiced a strong interest in the region as well, calling itself a "near-Arctic state."
On Friday, Washington announced plans, amid heightened tensions with Moscow, to establish an ambassador-at-large focused on the Arctic.
"The Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Region," a press release states, "will advance U.S. policy in the Arctic, engage with counterparts in Arctic and non-Arctic nations as well as Indigenous groups, and work closely with domestic stakeholders, including state, local and Tribal governments, businesses, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, other federal government agencies and Congress."
Still, the U.S. Senate would have to approve the position.
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