MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2021) Russia is pleased to see most of its Arctic Council partners agree that military blocs should stay away from the Arctic, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
The United States and Norway signed a deal in April which Moscow believes makes it possible for Washington to deploy troops and assets to the so-called coordinated areas in the Arctic for military drills. Lavrov vowed to raise this issue with the Arctic Council at the 12th ministerial meeting in Reykjavik, which began on Wednesday.
"We believe that the Arctic should remain an area of peace, stability and constructive cooperation. During today's meeting we once again stressed that we do not see any potential for conflict here, let alone for the deployment of any kind of programs of political-military blocs. We are pleased that the majority of our partners share this stance," Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thordarson on the sidelines of the ministerial summit.
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum that aims to promote partnership and coordination between the regional states on issues of common concern, such as sustainable development and Indigenous peoples. The eight Arctic countries include Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.�
