The termination of full-fledged cooperation between Russia and other members of the Arctic Council complicates the work of the organization, said Morten Heglund, the new chairman of senior officials committee of the Arctic Council, in an interview with Kommersant.
Heglund noted that most of the normal bilateral cooperation between Russia and the other seven states (Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, U.S., Finland and Sweden) has been wiped out, and it no longer exists. "And this, for many reasons - both political and practical - creates a lot of problems," he said.
Heglund expressed the opinion that in the near future the organization is unlikely to be able to return to full-fledged work, as it was a few years ago. He called the key task of the Arctic Council the search for ways to keep it "integral and meaningful.
"We sincerely believe that the Arctic Council is worth preserving. It fulfilled its tasks, gradually increasing its role and relevance. If we lose the Arctic Council, it will be very difficult to restore it," he concluded.
Earlier it was reported that NATO was alarmed because of Russia's superiority in the Arctic. In terms of military potential and capabilities, the naval forces of NATO countries lag behind the Russian Northern Fleet by 10 years. This conclusion is contained in the report of the Finnish Institute of International Relations.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
