Russia's national maritime policy in the regions is focused on the Atlantic and Arctic regions, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said, while lecturing at the State Marine Technical University of St. Petersburg.

"The national maritime policy in the regions focuses on the Atlantic and Arctic regions," Rossiya Segodnya quotes Patrushev as saying.

He noted that modernization of the seaport infrastructure along the Northern Sea Route, and its adaptation to Russian Navy standards and requirements had great significance for developing the Arctic coast.

"The importance of the national maritime policy in the Arctic region is determined by the need to provide the Russian Navy with free access to the Atlantic Ocean, the riches of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, the increasingly greater importance of the Northern Sea Route for the Russian Federation's sustained development and security, and the Northern Fleet's decisive role for defending this national sector," Patrushev added.