
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON/BEIJING -- The top U.S. and Russian diplomats will meet for the Arctic Council this week amid growing alarm in Washington over Moscow's ramped-up military activity and Beijing's pursuit of shipping lanes in the strategically important region.
"We've seen Russia advance unlawful maritime claims, particularly its regulation of foreign vessels transiting the Northern Sea Route," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik.