St.PETERSBURG, June 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's economic activity in the Arctic region should be maximum transparent, President Putin said at a round table in St. Petersburg on Thursday at which safe and effective ways of the development of the Arctic region were discussed.

"This presupposes a permanent dialogue with the institutions of civil society, environmental organizations and all those who sincerely pursue noble goals, rather than take advantage of ecological problems to promote their own PR acts or business," Putin said.

Russia comes out for development of international partnership in the Arctic zone, including ecological partnership, the Russian president stressed.

"Russia, with almost a third of its territory situated in areas of Extreme North, is vested with a special responsibility for the Arctic region and ensuring ecological stability there".

Plans of the development of the Arctic zone in the following decades envisage major investment projects for the development of Arctic resources on the Arctic coast and on the shelf of the Arctic seas, creating new industrial facilities and transport corridors with priority given to the revival of the Northern Sea Route, Putin said.

“All programs and projects, all the activity in the Arctic region should ensure a balance between the economic activity and environmental protection and take into consideration the interests and age-long culture of the indigenous, scarce population of the North," Putin said.