21 September / 2020
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Ambassador Mr V.Barbin’s comment on the NATO military exercises in Russia’s exclusive economic zone in the Barents Sea to the Ritzau news agency
Ambassador Mr V.Barbin’s comment on the NATO military exercises in Russia’s exclusive economic zone in the Barents Sea to the Ritzau news agency
These naval exercises are being held on the false pretext of “promoting the freedom of navigation” which has never been endangered or questioned in the area of Barents Sea. Such exercises close to the Russian borders provoke doubts regarding the fairness of the statements made by our Arctic neighbors that they want to keep the region as a low-tension area.
It is difficult to agree with the statement that these exercises are being held in a “transparent way”. Transparency envisages preliminary notification, provision of exhaustive information about the naval exercises and presence of the observers from the interested States. Nothing of the mentioned above has been done. Even the transponders, allowing to detect the location of the military ships were periodically switched off.
These naval exercises are being held on the false pretext of “promoting the freedom of navigation” which has never been endangered or questioned in the area of Barents Sea. Such exercises close to the Russian borders provoke doubts regarding the fairness of the statements made by our Arctic neighbors that they want to keep the region as a low-tension area.
It is difficult to agree with the statement that these exercises are being held in a “transparent way”. Transparency envisages preliminary notification, provision of exhaustive information about the naval exercises and presence of the observers from the interested States. Nothing of the mentioned above has been done. Even the transponders, allowing to detect the location of the military ships were periodically switched off.
