MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Development of the Northern Sea Route and of regional aviation should be key priorities of work in the Arctic for the new coordinating body, which the Russian government is organizing, head of the Federation Council (parliament’s upper house) committee on federative, regional and local policies and on the North’s affairs, Oleg Melnichenko told TASS on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister, the presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev said the government is organizing a coordinating body to solve tasks in development of the Far North. According to structure of the newly appointed government, Deputy Prime Minister Trutnev will be responsible for the social and economic development in the Far East and in the Arctic.
"The Arctic has accumulated a number of problems, and I support as absolutely correct the decision to organize a coordinating body for solving them," the senator said. "The experts will have to focus on two major directions."
"First of all, it is development of the Northern Sea Route, construction and upgrading of the Far North’s backbone points, development of regional aviation and of transport communication not only with Moscow, but with other northern regions, too," he continued. "Secondly, it would be important to improve the living conditions in the Arctic: regulation of the utilities and energy tariffs for the locals and for the enterprises working there."
Another priority for the coordinating body would be settlement of the issues, related to exploitation of natural resources and to keeping the Far North’s fragile ecology system, he added.