Kremlin Aide Nikolay Patrushev: “Russia will not permit NATO to violate its national interests in the Baltic Region”

Russian Presidential Aide, Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolay Patrushev.
Photo: TASS

Mineral deposits in various parts of the world cannot compare with natural resources of the Arctic that sees growing competition for its riches and the West’s attempts to militarize that region, Russian Presidential Aide, Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolay Patrushev said in an interview with the National Defense magazine, TASS quotes.

"The attempts to militarize the Arctic have long become a part of the Western geopolitical agenda. This is primarily linked to the growing world competition for natural resources," Patrushev said, noting that "the significance of the richest polar region will only grow."

"The Arctic possess such reserves of natural resources that the most attractive deposits in other regions of the world pale in comparison," the chairman of Russia’s Maritime Board stressed.

Russia believes that the Arctic must be a territory of peace where many states can jointly implement economic and research projects and "use the transport potential of the northern seas," Patrushev said.

NATO naval forces intend to increase the number of terrorist attacks on Russian underwater pipelines, tankers, and bulk carriers, said Nikolay Patrushev, Chairman of the Maritime Board and aide to the Russian President, in an interview with the National Defense magazine, citing experts.

"The information we have says that the [NATO] navy is planning to intensify terrorist activities against Russian underwater pipelines, tankers, and bulk carriers," Patrushev said.

He added that "naval provocations" have been employed by Western countries for subversive work since the Cold War, and "they do not intend to abandon their use." "It is no coincidence that special attention is being paid to the sabotage units of the NATO navies as part of ongoing exercises and combat training programs," the presidential aide said.

Patrushev also said that NATO is simulating cyberattacks on the navigation equipment of Russian ships in the Baltic region to organize emergency situations. "Since the end of last year, additional forces have been deployed to the Baltic Sea as part of Operation Baltic Sentry, allegedly to counter increased sabotage. Experts are inclined to believe that the NATO countries themselves are the organizers, sponsors, and instigators of the increased frequency of emergency situations on merchant ships and the failure of underwater infrastructure," he said.

Tensions in Baltic area to increase due to Europe’s stance, says Russian Presidential Aide. Nikolay Patrushev, has highlighted the increasing risk of military threats to Russia from Europe and NATO in the Baltic region.

"Judging by the outcomes of the recent European Union summit, which resolved to pursue large-scale militarization, military threats will only escalate. The current forecast for the Baltic area indicates a deliberate effort to stoke regional tensions by the naval forces of European alliance countries. There is a significant likelihood of intensified threats to Russian port infrastructure and freedom of navigation," Patrushev stated in an interview with National Defense magazine.

He believes that the worsening situation is being orchestrated by London, which is "interested in undermining efforts to normalize US-Russian relations and in disrupting negotiations regarding Ukraine."

"The European wing of NATO continues to implement its policy of containing Russia in the Baltic region while disregarding the importance of restoring the dialogue between Moscow and Washington," Patrushev explained.

Russia will not permit NATO to violate its national interests in the Baltic Region despite intense attempts by its new members, Nikolay Patrushev said.

"Russia will not allow NATO to encroach its national interests in the Baltic Region, despite the active efforts of its newly admitted member states, which are going to great lengths to demonstrate their loyalty to the West without realizing the dangerous game they are playing," he said.

Finland joined the alliance in April 2023, followed by Sweden in March 2024, becoming the 32nd member of the bloc.

Patrushev noted that the Baltic Fleet is currently undergoing extensive combat training and is capable of operating effectively both in the Baltic Sea and far from its bases during long-range missions.

He highlighted improvements in training to counter underwater sabotage forces and noted that large-scale exercises are underway to enhance readiness to repel attacks involving unmanned aerial and maritime systems and to protect maritime communications.

"The fleet is expanding with new frigates, corvettes, mine countermeasures ships, hydrographic vessels, and boats. An integrated infrastructure for fleet basing is also being developed. Given the growing security threats in the northwest, strengthening Russia's military power in this region is a guarantee of its sovereignty in this strategic direction," the chairman of the Maritime Board emphasized.

Contemporary Finland, similar to the late 1930s, is becoming a launchpad for potential aggression against Russia, Nikolay Patrushev told the National Defense magazine in an interview.

March 12 marks the 85th anniversary of the conclusion of the Soviet-Finnish war. Patrushev stated that Finnish historiographers today deliberately misrepresent the causes of the conflict: "They fail to mention that ultranationalist groups in Finland demanded the creation of a ‘Great Finland’, an aggressive propaganda campaign was pursued to seize Soviet territory, and intense militarization took place."

"Today, we observe a similar situation — Finland’s territory is once again turning into a launchpad for potential aggression against Russia, now under NATO's patronage," he noted.

Patrushev pointed out that Moscow had not taken any aggressive actions towards Helsinki in the late 1930s. "The Soviet government made efforts to resolve the issue peacefully until the very end, even offering a territorial swap."

However, Finland "rejected all peace proposals while bolstering its military capability, which posed a direct threat to the security of the USSR and, notably, the survival of Leningrad." During the Great Patriotic War, the Finns "occupied Soviet Karelia for almost three years, turning it into a massive concentration camp and indiscriminately exterminating, primarily the Slavic population," Patrushev added.

Patrushev emphasized the importance of focusing on the Karelian front of the Great Patriotic War under current circumstances. The front, where the Finnish army's attacks were repelled, was "not only the longest of the fronts but also the only one where a section of the Soviet border remained under the control of the Red Army throughout the entire conflict," he concluded.

Nikolay Patrushev reminded Helsinki that the Gulf of Finland is not its property and that all states are required to comply with the principles of international maritime law.

Thus, he responded to the plans of Helsinki and Tallinn to block Russia's exit from the Gulf of Finland.

"We shall remind the Finns that the Gulf of Finland is not owned by any country. Adherence to the norms of international maritime law is the obligation of all states," Patrushev said.

According to him, this is also true from a historical perspective. "Historically, the bay was called Varangian Sea, Kotlin Lake, Kronstadt Bay, indicating its geographical connection to Russia. We should also consider that Finland was part of the Russian Empire for a century," the presidential aide emphasized.

Patrushev also highlighted that Russia has always been a multinational country that respects the traditions and cultures of all peoples living on its territory, including Finns. He added that in the Russian Empire, Finland was granted considerable autonomy with the establishment of the Grand Duchy of Finland, where the Finnish language was revived and preserved. "By the way, Russians in the imperial era willingly settled in Finland. For example, March 21 will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the naval officer and renowned Russian inventor Alexander Fedorovich Mozhaysky. He was born in the Russian Empire, in the town of Rochensalm, which is now part of Finland," the aide concluded.

The Finnish government, with the support of the Anglo-Saxons, is taking measures to undermine their country's sovereignty, Nikolay Patrushev told National Defense magazine in an interview.

"The Finnish population is welcoming towards Russia, unlike the official Helsinki. The Finnish authorities, with the full backing of the Anglo-Saxons, are taking actions to strip their country of sovereignty," he said.

Patrushev supported his argument with examples - former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, "for her anti-Russian actions, which led to an unprecedented downturn in the Finnish economy in the past 80 years, was given a plum job in London. <...> Now she works at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, having essentially been rewarded for the destruction of Russian-Finnish relations. The example of Finland clearly shows how Western powers systematically erode the independence of countries, turning them into obedient executors of their will," Patrushev believes.

He emphasized that the lessons of history should not be forgotten. He highlighted that after the Second World War and up until recently, relations between Moscow and Helsinki were often viewed as an example of constructive diplomacy. Patrushev believes that the 1948 bilateral Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance laid the foundation for a long-term mutually beneficial partnership, and during the Cold War, Finland was considered almost the only Western country that consistently maintained strong relations with the USSR, which were highly advantageous for Helsinki from an economic perspective.

Moscow would like not only to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for domestic needs, but also to attract the attention of other countries to this route, Nikolay Patrushev said.

Among the most important tasks that our state is facing is enhancing the competitiveness of the Northern Sea Route not only in the domestic Russian or regional but also in the global scale," he said in an interview with the National Defense magazine.

The NSR is a convenient route for coastal shipping, which has no alternative routes, Patrushev said. "Moreover, we can carry cargoes both from the West to the East and vice versa. It is possible to carry marine bioresources caught in the Pacific Ocean using appropriate vessels," he said.

The formation of a single economic and transport-logistics space as part of a new federal project named ‘Development of the Great Northern Sea Route’ has started this year, Patrushev noted, adding that it will allow linking Russia’s northwest to the Far East, and increase transport security.

"In the pipeline are expanding the possibilities of seaports and terminals, both directly along the Northern Sea Route and in cities and settlements where cargoes should be reloaded onto river and railway transport," he explained.

The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between Russia’s European part and the Far East. The route’s length is 5,600 km, stretching from the Kara Strait to Providence Bay. That said, it is fully located in territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone of Russia.

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