Moscow: “Russia is returning to the Arctic and intensifying the development of this promising region so it needs to “have all the levers for the protection of its security and national interests,” said Russian President on Tuesday at a high level meeting of the Defense Ministry Board.
According to Russian media Putin ordered the ministry to complete the formation of new military units and infrastructure in the Arctic next year.
When asked to comment, political observer for Eurasia, Dr Aftab Kazi said:
I think that this new development will also have considerable impact on the Customs Union. Earlier, A couple of centuries ago Russia decided to look towards Central Eurasia/Siberia. Now, with modern technology it will be developing the Arctic coastal regions. With the opening of the Arctic transportation channel, several new ecumens are likely to grow in these regions. While Russia has granted China research rights in Eastern Arctic, China reciprocating with Russian rights in the East China Sea, it appears that several East Asian countries, ASEAN will also be renting from Russia some coastal areas to establish their industrial warehouses. There will be some environmental criticism, but the environment is already changing. The most serious impact of Arctic route will likely be that the Suez Canal will be losing at least 50 percent of its traffic. Norway and Scandinavian countries will also be benefiting. The Arctic coast of Norway remains largely un-populated. This new development will also create new cities/ecumens in northern Norway as well. Russian Siberia will also be developing very fast. I will not be surprised at the growth of new Eurasian transportation routes, such as railway, etc from Arctic to the Arabian Sea and all across Eurasia. Briefly, this is among the few major developments of the 21st century.
