WASHINGTON, October 1 - The Arctic Council
needs Russia, and is supportive of Moscow's continued engagement in its
work, said Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., US Special Representative to
the Arctic said during the conference at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington, DC.
"We work with Russia now. We expect to continue to work with Russia,"
Papp, who will take over the Arctic Council chairmanship in 2015, said
Tuesday.
US Representative to the Arctic noted that Ambassador Bolton just
came back from Vladivostok where he worked on fisheries agreements.
Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou dans l'exploration de l'Arctique malgré sa décision de boycotter la 4e réunion du Conseil de l'Arctique qui s'est tenue les 6-7 août en Russie, a déclaré vendredi le secrétaire du Conseil de sécurité de Russie Nikolaï Patrouchev.
"Les Américains n'ont pas expliqué leur absence, mais ils se disent prêts à coopérer en Arctique lors de contacts bilatéraux", a indiqué M.Patrouchev dans une interview à RIA Novosti.
KIRUNA, May 15 (RIA Novosti)
– Foreign ministers from the Arctic
Council’s member states have signed a legally binding agreement on
preventing and responding to oil spills in the Arctic to protect the
region’s waters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on
Wednesday.
The treaty is “an effective tool protecting the Arctic environment at
a time of active exploration of the opening Arctic deposits, and shows
the firm responsibility of the Arctic states for the situation in the
region,” Lavrov said at the opening of the council’s ministerial session
in Sweden’s northernmost city of Kiruna.
Lavrov said he “welcomed” the decision to expand the council by
granting the so-called observer status to new states. China, Italy and
four other Asian countries - India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore -
gained observer status on the Council at a meeting on Wednesday. The
Council also said it “positively” viewed the idea of granting the
European Union observer status. However, a decision on the EU status has
been deferred because of Canada’s concern over an EU ban on import of
seal products, which came into effect in August.