Russia is leading a dialogue with partner states on the organization of a joint expedition to the Arctic, Nikolai Korchunov, an ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry and a senior official of the Arctic Council, told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2021) Russia is leading a dialogue with partner states on the organization of a joint expedition to the Arctic, Nikolai Korchunov, an ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry and a senior official of the Arctic Council, told Sputnik.
"We are in talks with partners. There is interest among countries in working on the organization of a joint expedition. It is still too early to confirm how and in which form the relevant agreement will be concluded, but practice shows that, as a rule, international expeditions are prepared on the basis of national ones," Korchunov said.
The envoy explained that a project like that should have a leading country, where the expedition's headquarters and preparations will be based, and added that "as a rule, this is the national operator of marine research."
"Within the framework of the Arctic Council, a working group was formed which mainly includes representatives of marine scientific operators, who will have to consider this issue," Korchunov said.
The idea of launching an international expedition to the Arctic was first proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address to the 2021 Eastern Economic Forum on September 3.
