The United States invited the Russian Federation and other members of the Arctic Council to take part in the exercises of Arctic Chinook

The United States was sent to seven countries, which, along with them, enter the Arctic Council, including Russia, an invitation to take part in the exercises to search and save the distress at sea. This was announced by TASS by an employee of the press service of the US Coast Guard Alan Ingram. The teachings under the code name Arctic Chinook are scheduled for August 22-26 and mainly in the Bering Strait.

“All eight Arctic states have been invited,” Ingram said, referring to Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, the USA, Finland and Sweden. At the same time, according to her, it is still unknown which countries, in addition to the United States, will take part in maneuvers.

As the representative of the coast guard, which is an independent type of armed forces along with the Ground Forces, the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps, in the exercises of the Arctic Chinook will participate in a cruise ship with approximately 250 passengers and crew members on board.

During the maneuvers, the organizers will stage the incident with the participation of this vessel, which will lead to an imaginary disaster and "critical, serious and small injuries of passengers." The participants in the exercises will set the task of evacuating people from the ship.

According to Ingram, the number of warships and aircraft, as well as the number of personnel that will take part in the maneuvers, have not yet been determined.

Over the past few months, these are not the first maneuvers in the region with the participation of the United States. So, in March, in addition to the US Navy, representatives of Canada, Norway and the UK participated in the exercises in the Arctic . In October last year, the ARCTIC ZEPHYR command and staff exercises were held in Ankoridge (Alaska). The basis for all types of such exercises is an agreement on cooperation in the aviation and sea searches and salvation in the Arctic, signed by AC participants in 2011.

On June 8-10 in Boston (Massachusetts), a meeting of the Arctic Forum of the Coast Guard (AFBO) of the countries - participants of the Arctic Union was held. The representative of Russia, First Deputy Head of the Border Guard of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, Vice Admiral Alexei Volsky, took part in the negotiations in Boston. According to the results of the meetings, a joint statement was adopted regarding the development of a strategic cooperation plan.

AFBO was created last fall, it is focused on operational activities and is designed to strengthen cooperation and coordination of actions at sea in the Arctic.

Recall that Russia in recent years has been actively mastering the Arctic direction. In July last year, President Vladimir Putin approved the changes made to the Marine Doctrine of the Russian Federation, where the main emphasis was on the Atlantic and Arctic directions.

Then the Ministry of Defense said that Russia has already controlled the Air and sea space of the Arctic at a distance of at least 500 km from the shore, and the military department actively implements the Arctic development program, which consists in creating military infrastructure and the formation of formations and military units in the Arctic zone, in particular the new land, the land of the Franz-Joosif, Vrangel, the Earth, the land, the earth, the earth Alexandra, Novosibirsk Islands and on Cape Schmidt.

In August, Russia held large -scale exercises of the Northern Fleet in the region. Then more than 1000 military personnel took part in them. The main tasks of maneuvers were strengthened by the security of the Russian Arctic, ensuring the free economic activity of Russia in this region and protecting the territory and objects of the Russian Federation from potential military threats.

In October, the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu said that the creation of the Arctic group of troops of the Russian Federation should be completely completed by 2018. According to him, the military department is completing the creation of a military base on the island of the Kotnya, part of the Novosibirsk Islands, and then begins to bases on the island of Wrangel, Cape Schmidt, Chukotka and Kurils.

Meanwhile, in the West, they repeatedly expressed concern to the military activity of the Russian Federation in the Arctic. The Commander -in -Chief of the United Armed Forces of NATO in Europe, Philip Bridlav, said in early March that Russia was engaged in the militarization of the Arctic region. In the USA, it previously noticed that Moscow is restoring existing and building new military bases in the Arctic.

Since 2001, Russia has been applying for a section of the shelf, including the ridges of Lomonosov and Mendeleev. On the territory under the North Arctic Ocean, Denmark, Canada, Norway and the United States also claims. In August last year, Russia filed an application to the UN to expand its continental shelf in the Arctic.