MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Western nations are unable to ensure sustainable development of the Arctic without Russia, Nikolay Korchunov, Russian Ambassador at Large and Chairman of the Committee of Senior Arctic Officials, told TASS on Sunday.

"In early March 2022, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland suspended their membership in the [Arctic] Council citing Russia’s military special operation in Ukraine as a reason. The Western members of the Council say that it is a temporary freeze that doesn’t require any changes in the organization’s composition and format of work. It is obvious that it is impossible to effectively ensure the Arctic’s sustainable development without Russia, a country accounting for nearly 60% of the Artic coast and being home to more than a half of the region’s population (2.5 million people," he stressed.

According to Korchunov, the Council has been a key mechanism of multilateral cooperation in the Arctic for 25 years. He recalled that Russia is chairing the Arctic Council in 2021-2023. "The Russian presidency’s priorities were supported by all the Arctic countries without exclusion. They include efforts to ensure responsible management for the sustainable development of the Arctic on condition of the balanced combination of social, economic and environmental aspects," the Russian diplomat said, adding that all the Arctic Council member nations agree that the Council is an effective international platform for elaborating collective decisions geared toward the region’s sustainable development. "The Arctic Council ministerial declaration adopted in Reykjavik on May 20, 2021 notes the member states’ commitment to preserving the Arctic as a territory of peace, stability and constructive cooperation. We believe that the artificial inclusion of the Ukrainian topic into the Council’s agenda does not meet these goals," he emphasized.