Putin Seeks ‘Zone of Peace,’ Not ‘Battle’ in Arctic
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for peaceful cooperation in the Arctic, which is set to become a major energy production and transportation hub.
“It is important to maintain a zone of peace and cooperation in the Arctic,” Putin said today, addressing the International Arctic Forum in Moscow. “I have no doubt that all issues, including those of the Arctic shelf, can be resolved in the spirit of partnership.”
Putin said “futuristic predictions of an impending battle for the Arctic” aren’t grounded in reality.
A rush to explore the Arctic was triggered by the region’s melting ice that has eased access to areas that may hold about a quarter of the world’s untapped oil and natural gas. Russia, Canada, the U.S., Denmark and Norway have territorial claims in the region.
Iceland’s President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said in an interview yesterday that “there will be conflicts” as the Arctic countries vie for resources, “but the law of the sea serves us as a very effective framework to resolve disputes.”
The pace of global warming in the Arctic is three times faster than elsewhere, attracting the attention of countries such as China to the opening of a new transportation route, Grimsson said.
Gas Reserves
Melting of the Arctic ice will “shorten the distance between Asia and Europe and America by 40 percent to 50 percent, which is an enormous change”, said Grimsson, who said his country may become a hub for servicing and controlling increased maritime traffic.
Russia, which holds the world’s biggest natural gas reserves, is seeking to expand its presence in the Arctic and claims the underwater Lomonosov Ridge that links Siberia to the Arctic Sea bed, which could allow the country to extend its reach to the North Pole.
Russia is collecting scientific evidence to enhance its claim, Anton Vasiliev, the country’s ambassador at large for the Arctic, said yesterday. The government has allocated an additional 2 billion rubles ($64.5 million) to support the work, according to Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev.
Russia and Norway signed an agreement to settle a four- decade-long border dispute over the energy-rich Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean last week. Putin today said the accord sets “a good example that the search for a compromise is possible.”
Trutnev said as many as seven major fields and one or two “unique” fields may be identified in the area.
To contact the reporters on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at ashiryaevska@bloomberg.net; Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net; Willy Morris at wmorris@bloomberg.net
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