The devil is not as black as it is painted

... trend towards gradual de-militarization, not to militarization in the Arctic. Coastal states are not preparing for an armed conflict. There isn’t a single military contingent deployed in the Arctic. The only exception is 100 ships-strong Russian Northern Fleet . It was created in the cold war times for the strategic purpose to contain USA and NATO. It is this strategic thinking that determines military importance of the Arctic. Trajectories of Russian and American ICBMs go over this area. In ...