Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday called claims of Russia's alleged involvement in GPS disruptions during last year's NATO drills a fantasy, a day after Norway renewed similar allegations concerning signal interference near its border
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2019) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday called claims of Russia's alleged involvement in GPS disruptions during last year's NATO drills a fantasy, a day after Norway renewed similar allegations concerning signal interference near its border.On Monday, the Norwegian Intelligence Service said in its annual report that in repeated incidents since 2017, Russia had blocked GPS signals in Norwegian regions near the border with Russia, adding that these incidents coincided with military drills in Norway.
"I must say that a matter was not looked into because it is impossible to explore fantasies that are not confirmed by any facts. It's all along the lines of 'highly likely,'" Lavrov said at a press conference after meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
In turn, Soini said that Finland had requested information from Russia on what could be causing the GPS disruptions.
"The situation [with GPS failure] last fall caused concern in Finland. And this situation does not in any way contribute to increasing the level of stability in the region. Naturally, the safety of air traffic and security in the broad sense should not be compromised in any circumstances. We expect and believe that there will be no such events in the future. We discussed this issue and asked for information on what these obstacles may be related to," Soini told reporters after the meeting.
Between late October and early November, NATO's Trident Juncture military drills, held in several northern European countries, including Norway and Finland, were overshadowed by several incidents in which pilots reported losing GPS signals.
On November 13, the Norwegian Defense Ministry issued a statement blaming Russia for the disruption of GPS navigation signals. Finland also alleged that Russia could be responsible for jamming the signal. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has noted the existing trend of accusing Russia of "various deadly sins," saying that such accusations were, as a rule, unfounded.
