MURMANSK, March 26. /TASS/. The United States will eventually build a fleet of ice-breakers, but at this point, it does not have enough of them to make itself a major player in Arctic shipping, said Nikolay Patrushev, presidential aide and chairman of the Russian Maritime Board.
"No, they can't, at least not yet, because they have neither the expertise nor the icebreakers at the moment," Patrushev said when asked if the United States could carve out a niche in Arctic shipping.
"But since they're pursuing this goal, they'll eventually get there, just not today," Patrushev added.
According to him, in these conditions, Russian businesses "need to work."
US President Donald Trump said earlier that the United States plans to order the construction of 48 icebreakers. He said that Russia currently has "about 40 icebreakers," while the United States has only one, and stressed that important routes pass through the Arctic.