MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. Implementation of joint projects between Russia and the United States in the Arctic is possible in the energy sector, logistics along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and in shipbuilding, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Nikolay Kharitonov told TASS.
Earlier, in an interview with Politico, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said that Russia and the US during a meeting in Saudi Arabia discussed the possibility of joint projects in the Arctic. According to him, the parties agreed to create working groups and to continue high-level contacts, but there were no detailed plans for further meetings.
"Cooperation between Russia and the US in the Arctic is possible in the energy sector - oil, liquefied natural gas, logistics along the Northern Sea Route and shipbuilding, but its implementation depends on mitigation of the political confrontation," he said. "With the remaining sanctions, large-scale initiatives such as joint offshore development or new transport corridors remain questionable."
Most probable would be targeted projects like to resume development of hydrocarbon deposits by American service companies or joint investments in port infrastructures. "Probable are projects to develop new fields, such as Novatek's Arctic LNG-2, where foreign counterparts may participate in financing or in technological support," he added.
According to him, the US companies may be interested in cargo transit along the Northern Sea Route. "Russia is the only country with nuclear icebreakers that are critically important for the Northern Sea Route," he said. "The United States may be interested in joint projects to build ice-class vessels or to upgrade port infrastructures.".