SEOUL, February 13. /TASS/. The use of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is impossible without cooperation with Russia, and Moscow is ready for such interaction with Seoul, Russian Ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinovyev said.

"The Russian side is ready to engage with the Korean side on the issue. Cooperation is entirely possible under the current circumstances if there is a desire to do so," he said at a meeting with reporters. Meanwhile the diplomat indicated that he would not judge the extent to which the existing sanctions regime limits opportunities for cooperation in the Arctic, calling this issue an internal matter for the Republic of Korea itself.

At the same time, he noted growing interest in the Northern Sea Route from other countries, such as China and India. "There is no other route from Korea to Europe in the high latitudes. It cannot go through Alaska and Canada as there is no shipping there. In the Arctic Ocean, shipping is only possible along Russia's economic zone and territorial waters," Zinovyev noted. The ambassador reiterated that cooperation with Russia is essential to exploiting the short route from Asia to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. "Anyone who looks at a map will understand perfectly well that cooperation with Russia is necessary," he said.