MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) The reestablishment of the US Second Fleet poses a threat to Russias northern sea communications, therefore Moscow would provide an adequate response to ensure its security, the deputy chair of the Russian upper houses committee on defense and security, Alexei Kondratyev, told Sputnik.
Earlier in the day, Commander of US Fleet Forces Command Adm. Chris Grady, speaking at a solemn ceremony at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, said that the United States had officially reactivated its Second Fleet to deter Russia in the Northern Atlantic.
"[The reestablishment] of this fleet is a threat to our northern sea communications. For every action there is a counteraction, and it will require certain adequate steps. I cannot announce them [right now], but the quantitative and qualitative parameters of Russias Northern Fleet will be developed, taking into account the strengthening of the United States in the Arctic, so as to ensure the security of Russia on this flank," Kondratyev said.
He suggested that the US move is "only the first step," clarifying that Washington aimed to ensure its military domination in the Arctic.
According to Kondratyev, Norway and the United Kingdom have been similarly stepping up their military activities in the Arctic since last year, which points to the NATO build-up in the region.
The US Second Fleet was originally created in 1950 and played an important role in the confrontation with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In 2011, under President Barack Obama, it was disbanded.
