Maslennikov, who is the director of the European Affairs Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry and its highest representative to the Arctic Council, stated that the Northern Viking exercises, like any maneuver conducted by NATO at high latitudes, contribute to increasing the risk of incidents that could lead to armed confrontation and pose direct threats to Russia’s security.

Russia has witnessed in recent years unprecedented activity by NATO near its western borders, something that the military bloc, in turn, presents as “containment of Russian aggression.”

The Kremlin noted that Russia does not threaten anyone, but it will not let this potentially dangerous activity pass. jdt/iff/to/gfa