MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2021) � Russia sees a Norwegian warship's arrival at the Svalbard archipelago, also known as Spitsbergen, as a step towards militarization of this territory and is concerned about it, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Friday.
"The organization of the visit of the Norwegian warship to the archipelago is the next step of Oslo in a series of successive actions to include this territory in the sphere of national military development," Zakharova said in a statement, published by the ministry.
The spokeswoman added that the "hidden militarization" of the archipelago by Norway is visible.
"Such a demonstration of military force raises serious concern as inconsistent with the spirit of the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which defined a purely peaceful status for the use of this archipelago, and also contradicts Oslo's declared goal of maintaining low tension in high latitudes," Zakharova added.
