Russian Ambassador to US Warns Arctic Council Against Making Decisions Without Moscow
The Arctic Council Ministerial meeting 2021 took place in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Photo: Screenshot).
A senior Russian diplomat stated that the decisions made by the Arctic Council without the involvement of Moscow would be considered illegitimate.
On Wednesday, seven of the Arctic Council's eight member states issued a joint statement on the limited resumption of Arctic Council cooperation.
Due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the members of the Arctic Council issued a written declaration in March, refusing to participate in meetings hosted by Russia and taking place on its territory.
On Thursday the Russian ambassador to the United States stated that the decisions made by the Arctic Council without the involvement of Moscow would be considered illegitimate and in violation of the consensus principle.
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov made these remarks while commenting on the statement of the now so called Arctic 7.
"Such a step cannot but give cause for concern to both Russia as its current chair and of the whole international community interested in the further sustainable development of the region," he stated on Telegram, the TASS news agency reported.
"We state that this unique format of cooperation between states is still being politicized. The decisions on behalf of the Arctic Council taken without consulting Russia will be illegal and they violate the consensus principle stipulated by its guideline documents," Antonov explained.
Ambassador Antonov further stated that it is almost impossible to resolve the Arctic's challenges effectively without the presence of Russia.
Earlier in May, Nikolai Korchunov, a senior Russian official in the Arctic Council, warned against North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion in the Nordic countries. He stated that the entry of Sweden and Finland into the intergovernmental military alliance would lead to certain "adjustments" in Arctic cooperation.
