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Putin tours Arctic archipelago where Russia is building military base

WATCH ABOVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin along with the country's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visit the largest island in Franz Josef Land Archipelago in the Arctic – Mar 29, 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting an Arctic archipelago as part of the country’s efforts to reaffirm its foothold in the region.

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Putin toured the Franz Josef Land archipelago, a cluster of 192 islands where the Russian military has recently built a new runway and worked to open a permanent base.

WATCH: Defending the Arctic: New security network in the works as world powers turn north

During Wednesday’s trip, Putin inspected a cavity in a glacier that scientists use to study permafrost. He also spoke with environmental experts who have worked to clean the area of Soviet-era debris.

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READ MORE: Cold War II? Russian military plans buildup from West to Pacific

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Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and other senior officials accompanied him.

The Kremlin has named reaffirming the Russian presence in the Arctic as a top priority amid an intensifying rivalry over the region that is believed to hold up to one-quarter of the planet’s undiscovered oil and gas.

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