⚡️ Article by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, “International Cooperation in the Arctic: Challenges and Opportunities,” published on Arctic.ru
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✍️ On 19 August, a landmark event took place in Arctic shipping. For the first time, a container ship from China arrived at the port of Murmansk via the Northern Sea Route, a vital part of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor. In collaboration with our international partners this represents the start of a new phase in the development of Russia’s Arctic region, which accounts for at least 10 percent of the country’s GDP and is home to more than 2.5 million of our citizens.
In this regard, I would like to share a number of considerations on how we assess the current state of affairs in the Arctic and how we plan to develop international cooperation there.
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Russia and international partners in the Arctic
• The Foundations of the Russian State Policy in the Arctic for the Period up to 2035, approved by President Vladimir Putin, focus the efforts of all government bodies on improving the quality of life for the population of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, promoting economic growth in its territories, protecting the environment and fostering mutually beneficial international cooperation. <...> Foreign policy priorities in high latitudes have been enshrined in the currently effective Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation of March 31, 2023.
• In the Arctic, Russia is seeking to preserve peace and stability, reduce the level of threats to national security, and create favourable external conditions for the country’s socio-economic development. We are open to interaction with all constructively minded foreign countries displaying reciprocal readiness to put these ideas into practice.
• The countries that cooperate closely with us in the Arctic include, first and foremost, China and India. <...> There are prospects for interaction in the Far North with Brazil, Indonesia, Iran and other #BRICS countries.
Challenges for international cooperation in the Arctic
• Preserving the Arctic as an area of peace and cooperation meets the interests of the entire international community, and Russia is undoubtedly interested in this as well.
• Meanwhile, there are those who do not share this point of view. How else can one explain the fact that NATO countries, as well as the Alliance as a whole, are driving the region towards militarisation and creating hotbeds of international tension there? <...> NATO is conducting large-scale military exercises involving non-regional countries and introducing new components of its command-and-control system.
• Such military activity in the Far North poses a direct threat to Russia’s security. <...> NATO and other Western countries make no secret of their true motives, openly declaring their intention to turn the Arctic into a new front for opposing the development of Russia and its like-minded partners.
• One manifestation of the West’s anti-Russian policy has been the disruption of previously effective mechanisms of multilateral cooperation in the Far North. <...> The Arctic Council, established almost 30 years ago, on September 19, 1996, remains the only functioning intergovernmental format. Russia is ready to resume the full-fledged work of the Arctic Council, provided that all parties engage in good faith and take into account the legitimate interests of every participant.
The future of international cooperation in the Arctic
• A glance at the world map makes it clear that Russia has been, is, and will remain a leading Arctic state. <...> The strategic importance of the Arctic to our country’s national interests and security will also continue to grow.
• In our economic activities, we will continue to proceed from the understanding that the Arctic maritime areas form an integral part of the World Ocean.
• Russia’s foreign policy in the Arctic will remain comprehensive and pragmatic. We support the Arctic’s development as an integral part of the broader Eurasian space of security and cooperation.
