YAKUTSK, September 24. /TASS/. Moscow will press on with developing Russia's Arctic territories despite the tense geopolitical situation in the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, addressing the participants of the fifth Northern Forum on Sustainable Development.

"Despite the tense geopolitical situation, we continue to work actively on the development of the North on the principle of pragmatism and cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally," the Minister pointed out at the plenary session of the forum.

The fifth Northern Forum on Sustainable Development is taking place in Yakutsk on September 24-27. The forum focuses on the resilience of the Arctic regions, search for optimal solutions and recommendations to improve the quality of life in the North. This year, more than 500 experts from 10 countries are taking part in the forum.

The Northern Forum on Sustainable Development is an international expert platform for discussing the problems and prospects of sustainable development of the North and the Arctic. It has been held annually since 2019. The organizers are the Northern Forum, the Government of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk (NEFU), the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation, the Arctic state institute of art and culture (ASIAC), Sever Research and Education Center, and the Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science.