MOSCOW, September 7 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his wife and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and her husband Prince Henrik of Denmark participated in the inauguration of the Danish-Russian photo exhibition “The Arctic” in the Moscow House of Photography on Wednesday.
Medvedev said the exhibition “shows the Arctic, one of the most beautiful parts of the world.” “I am sure this is extremely interesting. Denmark and Russia are Arctic countries and the Arctic is not an abstract geographic notion to us but something with which we deal every day,” the Russian president stressed.
“This is a rigorous territory, but it is very important to the development of our countries and other states. Our countries are members of the Arctic Council and they interact constantly within that structure, which is highly important,” Medvedev said.
“I am sure we will continue acting in this way in future. The Arctic is our heritage which we must preserve in good condition for the succeeding generations,” said the head of state.
“The climate on the globe is changing. Some regard this as a threat to the future of our civilization, others see this as a set of opportunities, still others believe that the degree of that danger is overrated, but one thing is apparent, that the climate change does take place and we talk of this in various places, from expert meetings to the Group of Twenty summits. It is, undoubtedly, important that we give attention to this problem,” the president said.
He stressed that photographs “reflect the situation existing in the Arctic and are, on the one hand, unbiased testimonies, and, on the other, emotional accounts of what happens in that rigorous but very beautiful area.”
Medvedev thanked the Queen for participating in the exhibition’s inauguration, stressing that this event was significant in the context of her state visit.
Margrethe II, in her turn, pointed to long-standing Russian-Danish tradition of Artic cooperation that started with the expedition of Vitus Bering whom Peter the Great, in 1725, appointed as head of the expedition to explore the easternmost lands of the Russian Empire and put them on the map. “In 1733, Bering, during a second expedition, was to survey the northern coast of the Russian Empire,” said the Queen.
She stressed that his memory is treasured both in Denmark and in Russia. “It can be said that Bering’s work was our first joint project in the Arctic,” said the Queen.
Margrethe II pointed out that “the Arctic is important not only to world science and economy.” “The northern territories of our planet are a source of inspiration in the arts,” she said, adding that the exhibition is “a wonderful example of photography inspired by the Arctic.”