BRUSSELS, October 20. /TASS/. The European Union intends to counter Russia and China in the Arctic and seek unrestricted access to the Northern Sea Route, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in an interview with The Times.

Earlier, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Affairs and Russia’s senior Arctic official at the Arctic Council, said the European Union was showing an intention to pursue escalation in the Arctic and was unwilling to stop politicizing cooperation in the High North.

In the interview, the EU foreign policy chief argued that the West must stop Russia and China from moving toward dominance in the Arctic. The Northern Sea Route, which is already actively used by Russia and China, is of particular concern to Brussels. The Times noted that the route allows ships to travel between Asia and Europe one-third faster than the traditional route through the Suez Canal. It is becoming increasingly important amid growing instability in the Middle East.

According to Kallas, the EU should work with Canada and the United States, ostensibly to prevent "Russia and China from gaining full control" over the route. She said EU and NATO countries would seek to ensure that the Northern Sea Route remains open to all ships.

Kallas also confirmed that the European Commission would present its new Arctic strategy on Tuesday, the last update having been made in 2021. The new strategy will include investments in the construction of new icebreakers, the establishment of a military center to monitor Russian activity in the Arctic, and provisions to ease the EU’s existing ban on offshore oil and gas extraction in the Arctic. The European Commission hopes that the prospect of developing offshore oil and gas reserves off Norway will increase investor interest in the region and help alleviate the EU’s energy supply problems.

Bloomberg previously reported that the European Union plans to launch an Arctic surveillance program in 2027. The program is expected to use the EU’s Copernicus and Galileo satellite systems to detect threats on land and at sea.