Russia is not going to take proactive steps to abolish the Arctic Council, said Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Russia's sherpa (emissary) in the BRICS.
"We did not put the Arctic Council on hold. And we will not take proactive steps to abolish it," Ryabkov said.
According to him, there should be no doubt that Russia will ensure its interests in the Arctic.
As Ryabkov stressed, when the countries of North America and Northern Europe realize that they cannot solve the Arctic problems without Russia, they will report this. "And we will look at on what basis and in what formats, and to what extent we will continue to interact with them in this area," he stressed.
The Deputy Minister noted that Moscow has found new platforms and means of cooperation with both Beijing and New Delhi to satisfy the growing interest in the region from these states.
Nikolay Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said earlier that Russia had suspended payments of contributions to the Arctic Council. This decision would be valid until the resumption of full-scale work of the organization.
In turn, the press secretary of the president of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia is still continuing to work in the Arctic Council, but if participation in it ceases to meet the interests of the country, then "special decisions" can be made, TASS reports.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
