No need for NATO presence in Arctic (Lavrov)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday he sees no need of NATO presence in the Arctic.
“We firmly believe that there are no problems in the Arctic which demand NATO participation, moreover, there are no problems there which demand military decisions,” the minister said during a public lecture on Russia’s foreign policy.
According to Lavrov, long before the Ukrainian crisis, NATO said and continues saying that the military factor in the Arctic will increase amid the escalation of the fight for the resources.

“The Arctic is a territory of dialogue,” the minister stressed. “We use this slogan for regular forums in Russia, and the work of the Arctic Council, to a large extent, is drawn up in this way,” he said.

The eight members of the Arctic Council are Russia, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and the United States.

There is a common understanding among the Arctic states that all of them are interdependent and have joint tasks, namely the ecology and the need to ensure the safety of transport routes of the Northern Sea Route, he said.
“We are jointly interested in cooperating in defending our bids to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,” Lavrov said.
en.itar-tass.com
20/10/14
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Arctic Council Needs Russia, to Continue Working With It

WASHINGTON, October 1  - The Arctic Council needs Russia, and is supportive of Moscow's continued engagement in its work, said Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., US Special Representative to the Arctic said during the conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.
"We work with Russia now. We expect to continue to work with Russia," Papp, who will take over the Arctic Council chairmanship in 2015, said Tuesday.
US Representative to the Arctic noted that Ambassador Bolton just came back from Vladivostok where he worked on fisheries agreements.

"The commander of the Coast Guard was in San-Francisco two weeks ago for the North Pacific Coast Guard forum, in which Russia took part, and he met with his counterpart," he added.
"And in general, as a sailor, I have learned to be pretty optimistic guy. Even in the worst of storms at some points it's going to be better," Papp said, emphasizing that they will continue working with Russians. "We really need them as a part of the Arctic Council."
The opinion that the Arctic Council needs Russia's participation in its work was expressed by many senior officials and experts at the conference.
Vincent Rigby, the chair of the Senior Arctic Officials underlined that up until now there has been a high level cooperation between the Arctic Council members including Russia, and stressed that Russia's participation in an Arctic Council ministerial in Iqaluit next spring is expected.
"The cooperation between the Arctic Council states, including Russia has continued to operate at a very very high level," Rigby claimed, adding that in Dealing with his Russian counterpart up to this point he has received nothing but positive messages with respect to Moscow's commitment to making the Arctic Council work.
"We are certainly supportive of Russia's continued engagement in the Arctic Council. And we are going to try to make this work over the coming months," he stated.
"It is a plan right now to hopefully have an Arctic Council ministerial in Iqaluit that's going to be fully representative," senior Arctic official concluded.
Dr. Andrea Charron, professor at the University of Manitoba said that the future of the Arctic Council would be compromised if Russia is kicked out or leaves it.
"If for some reason Russia is kicked out, or any of the members decide to leave the Arctic Council, the continuation of the Arctic Council will definitely be up for debate," Charron stressed.
"Russia particularly, because it is such a large Arctic player on many fronts," she added.
 (Ria Novosti)
1/10/14
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Arctique: Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou

Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou dans l'exploration de l'Arctique malgré sa décision de boycotter la 4e réunion du Conseil de l'Arctique qui s'est tenue les 6-7 août en Russie, a déclaré vendredi le secrétaire du Conseil de sécurité de Russie Nikolaï Patrouchev.

"Les Américains n'ont pas expliqué leur absence, mais ils se disent prêts à coopérer en Arctique lors de contacts bilatéraux", a indiqué M.Patrouchev dans une interview à RIA Novosti.
Les Etats-Unis sont le seul pays à ne pas envoyer leur délégation à la 4e réunion du Conseil de l'Arctique à Narian Mar, dans la république autonome des Nenets. Elle a porté sur les moyens de garantir la sécurité en Arctique, la création d'une infrastructure des transports arctiques, le développement de la Voie maritime du Nord, la production de ressources minières et biologiques, la protection de l'environnement arctique et le développement des peuples autochtones du Grand Nord.

• La prochaine réunion du Conseil aura lieu en 2015 dans la ville russe d'Arkhangelsk.

Créé en 1996, le Conseil de l'Arctique regroupe les huit Etats riverains de l'Arctique (Canada, Danemark, Etats-Unis, Finlande, Islande, Norvège, Russie et Suède) et six organisations des peuples autochtones de l'Arctique. Douze pays ont le statut d'observateurs (Allemagne, Espagne, Chine, Corée du Sud, France, Grande-Bretagne, Inde, Italie, Japon, Pays-Bas, Pologne et Singapour).http://fr.ria.ru/world/20140808/202084255.html
8/8/14
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Arctic Council Signs Oil Spill Response Deal

KIRUNA, May 15 (RIA Novosti)

 – Foreign ministers from the Arctic Council’s member states have signed a legally binding agreement on preventing and responding to oil spills in the Arctic to protect the region’s waters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
The treaty is “an effective tool protecting the Arctic environment at a time of active exploration of the opening Arctic deposits, and shows the firm responsibility of the Arctic states for the situation in the region,” Lavrov said at the opening of the council’s ministerial session in Sweden’s northernmost city of Kiruna.
Lavrov said he “welcomed” the decision to expand the council by granting the so-called observer status to new states. China, Italy and four other Asian countries - India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore - gained observer status on the Council at a meeting on Wednesday. The Council also said it “positively” viewed the idea of granting the European Union observer status. However, a decision on the EU status has been deferred because of Canada’s concern over an EU ban on import of seal products, which came into effect in August.

“Interest in the Arctic is on the rise. In particular, this is confirmed by the growth of the number of aspirants seeking to obtain an observer status in the Arctic Council,” Lavrov said.
Gao Feng, head of China's delegation to the event, told Xinhua after the decision granting China's observer status was announced: "China will first get to know the Arctic better, and then it will be able to join in international cooperation effectively."
The Arctic Council intergovernmental forum, comprising Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States, was established in 1996 to protect the Arctic region's environment and its indigenous peoples.
Russia has stepped up exploration of its Arctic oil and gas reserves in recent years, and has signed agreements with international partners including Shell, Statoil, Total and ExxonMobil to help exploit the region’s natural resources.

But environmental activists claim accidents in the area could have dire consequences, both because of fragility of the Arctic ecosystem and the complexity of cleaning up spills in remote areas.
The Arctic has also become an increasingly important region in economic and political terms thanks to climate change. The Arctic territories, believed to hold vast untapped oil and gas reserves, have been the subject of claims by the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark, with rising temperatures leading to a reduction in sea ice making hydrocarbon deposits under the Arctic Ocean increasingly accessible.
.rian.ru
15/5/13
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