High North News: Lavrov said that the fate of the Arctic Council depends on the dialogue of the partiesRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the future of the Arctic Council will depend on the possibility of a civilized dialogue between the countries, writes High North News.
He stressed that the efforts of States should be aimed at preserving peace and stability in the region.
Last week, Russia handed over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council to Norway. In order for the Council to move forward, it is necessary to jointly conduct a dialogue in order to preserve peace, stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic, the Russian Foreign Minister said.Last Thursday, Russia ended its two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council and handed over the baton to Norway.
It happened at a meeting in Salekhard in Western Siberia. The Arctic countries of the West took part in it in a digital format.
In a video message to the participants of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the following statement:
"Further effective work, and the fate of the Arctic Council as a whole, will depend on whether we will be able to jointly find opportunities to continue a civilized dialogue in the interests of preserving the Arctic as a territory of peace, stability and constructive cooperation."
Lavrov recalled that "the work of the council was disrupted due to the position of the West, under the far-fetched pretext of the situation in Ukraine, which "froze" the council's activities." Shortly after the outbreak of the armed conflict, Russia was removed from cooperation within the Council. "We consider such a step by our Western colleagues to be politicized and counterproductive, leading to the erosion of collective approaches to responsible management of the Arctic," the minister said.
The importance of the Arctic
According to Lavrov, Russia as chairman was guided by the common interests of ensuring the sustainable and safe development of the entire Arctic region, the well-being of its population, including the indigenous peoples of the North. He also pointed out that Moscow pays great attention to the Arctic region.
"The importance of the Arctic for our country's strategic interests is also confirmed in the updated Foreign Policy Concept approved by President Vladimir Putin at the end of March," he said.
Willingness to cooperate — but on certain conditions
According to High North News, Russia's representative in the Arctic Council Nikolai Korchunov held a press conference after the video meeting, at which he explained the views of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the council. "The future of the council is of obvious concern. But Norway is able to continue the work of the organization and return the council to its original format," he said.
Korchunov stressed that Russia is ready for cooperation and that the council will not be able to move forward without cooperation between the Arctic countries. He refuted claims that Moscow intends to develop alternative forums as opposed to the Arctic Council. She won't do that — at least as long as the council is working in a way that is in her national interest. The Russian representative reiterated that Moscow is alarmed by the expansion of NATO in the Scandinavian region and calls on the Arctic states to engage in dialogue on military issues.
At the same time, Korchunov noted that such issues do not fall within the competence of the council (military security is not included in its responsibilities), but this dialogue is extremely important for confidence-building and is of great importance for its work,
Russian participation is questionable
Speaking about the resumption of (partial) cooperation with Russia in the Arctic Council, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt noted that the Western states that are members of the council will discuss all issues related to this country and only then a decision will be made.
"We will consult with other members about the upcoming work. At the moment, the inclusion of Russia is not possible. Now we can start working and negotiating with the members on what to do next. We will focus on projects in which Russia is not involved," she said. According to Minister Huitfeldt, none of the member countries demands the exclusion of Russia from the council.
On Thursday, all eight member countries issued a joint statement on the work of the Council for the coming period.
In the search stage
Russia's plans do not include the creation of alternative forums for Arctic cooperation, but Korchunov stressed that Moscow cannot and should not rely on only one format of interaction in the Arctic.
The Russian diplomat noted that his country can develop cooperation in the Arctic in a bilateral, trilateral and multilateral format at various levels with the participation of geographically diverse partners.
Earlier, he expressed Russia's opinion about the weakening of the Arctic Council and stressed that it wants to develop cooperation in the Arctic with non-Arctic countries, such as BRICS members.
Alexey Chekunkov, the Russian Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, also spoke about Russia's desire to develop cooperation in the region with non-member countries: "Russia has fulfilled all its obligations under the chairmanship. We have all seen that the development of the Arctic is unthinkable without Russia. We conclude our chairmanship in a state of openness to all states that are ready to engage in the development of the Arctic in the name of peace."
This statement was made last Thursday at a meeting of the Council for the Development of the Far East, Arctic and Antarctic under the Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian Parliament), as reported by the TASS news agency. The topic of the council meeting is "Topical issues of ensuring Russia's national interests in the Arctic zone".
Cooperation with "friendly" countries
Chekunkov claims that "contrary to the actions of unfriendly countries," the Russian chairmanship of the Arctic Council has given the population of the Russian Arctic more results than planned.
It is noted that last year Russia organized a number of events with the participation of experts from "friendly" countries such as China, India, Mongolia, Brazil, Belarus and Kazakhstan. In total, 43 events were held in 10 different regions, which were attended by more than 28 thousand people.
The last event took place at the end of April. Experts from Russia and Brazil held a meeting at which they discussed issues of cooperation in the Arctic in scientific and other fields in the interests of sustainable development of the region. This is reported by the Russian website of the Arctic Council.
According to High North News, Russia wants to create an Arctic research station in Svalbard together with BRICS partners such as Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Recently, Russia and China agreed in Murmansk on cooperation between maritime departments. China also said it would support Norway's efforts to restore the Arctic Council.
Korchunov explained to Reuters that cooperation with non-Arctic countries in the region excludes military plans.
Author of the article: Astri Edvardsen