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Russia strengthening its sovereignty in Arctic and is open for cooperation - diplomat

All countries of the Arctic Council except Russia issued a written statement on March 3 refusing to take part in any Council meetings either chaired by Russia or taking place on its territory over the situation around Ukraine

MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russia is strengthening its sovereignty in the Arctic but is open for cooperation with all those who is interested in it, Nikolay Korchunov, Russian Ambassador at Large and Chairman of the Committee of Senior Arctic Officials, told TASS on Sunday.

"In general, Russia plans to continue to be guided by constructive approaches to cooperation in the Arctic. Strengthening our sovereignty in the high latitudes, we continue to be open for cooperation with both the Arctic and non-regional states and organization, which share our understanding of the necessity of sustainable development of this region. We hope the full-format work of the Arctic Council will be resumed soon," he said.

All countries of the Arctic Council except Russia issued a written statement on March 3 refusing to take part in any Council meetings either chaired by Russia or taking place on its territory over the situation around Ukraine.

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental organization of Arctic countries. Its members are Denmark (along with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Canada, Norway, the United States, Finland, Sweden, and Russia). In 2021, when the Council marked its 25th anniversary, the two-year presidency came over from Iceland to Russia.

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