ST. PETERSBURG, March 17. /TASS/. St. Petersburg is ready to become a center for managing all the Arctic regions in their complex development, deputy head of the city's transport committee, Alexei Lvov, told a meeting chaired by the presidential envoy to the North-Western Federal District on Friday.

"In order to have the Arctic regions develop fully, in a multifaceted and complex manner, we believe, there should be a center managing the entire Arctic region," he said. "The issue of the status form is a matter for discussions."

"We are ready to suggest to the country considering a center of the kind in St. Petersburg," he said, adding the scientific community had supported the idea the city would become the Arctic zone’s administrative center.

The president’s envoy Nikolai Tsukanov during the meeting said the city has necessary potential and suggested drafting a document to outline reasons for this suggestion, so that to discuss it further on with the local governor and further on at the federal level.

The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue Forum is a key international platform for discussing problems and future of the Arctic area at the global level. The forum is supported by the Russian government and its objective is to unite efforts of the international community for effective development of the Arctic and for higher living standards for the people living there. The first forum took place in 2010.

The Fourth Forum will take place in Arkhangelsk on March 29-30. It will feature about 1,500 participants from Russia and other countries. TASS is the forum's general information sponsor.