MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. The development of the Arctic region’s economic potential will pave the way for closing the Trans-Arctic transport corridor into a large transport ring, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian state corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev told the sectoral Strana Rosatom (Rosatom Country) newspaper.

"At the direction of the Russian President, the outlines for the creation of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor are currently being developed. This major logistics and infrastructure project will effectively consolidate industrial exports from Russian enterprises in the Urals, Arctic, and Siberia through the waters of the Northern Sea Route to consumers in the Asian region <…>. I cannot rule out that the development of economic potential of the entire Arctic region will allow us to talk about closing the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor into a large transport ring," he said.

Commenting on the dispute over Greenland, the chief executive also noted that the political debate over the island's ownership is centered around issues of its economic development and integration into major logistics routes.

That said, Vladimir Putin clearly stated at the Eastern Economic Forum last year that Russia and the United States could work together in the Arctic region, Likhachev noted, adding that no one has done more for Arctic development than Russia. "We understand better than anyone that developing this harsh region isn't a matter of politics, but rather a matter of using the most advanced technologies. Put simply, it's easy to plant a flag at the pole, but try to bring anything back from there. Rosatom's nuclear technologies are indispensable for work in the Arctic," he stressed.