MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Arctic is an area of common national interest among the world’s countries as Russia maintains regional peace, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Friday.
"The Russian Arctic is objectively becoming the crossroads of critical national interests of many foreign countries. That is why we are very interested to keep the peace in the region," Rogozin said addressing a legislative Arctic committee.
Rogozin, who chairs the state Arctic commission, highlighted the importance of maintaining a leading position in Arctic natural resource extraction, as well as in science, the environment and industry.
Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are part of the Arctic Coast Guard Forum created late last month. The "operationally-focused, consensus-based" forum was established to leverage collective resources to foster safe, secure and environmentally responsible maritime activity.
Vast untapped oil and gas reserves are thought to be contained in the Arctic. Five Arctic Circle countries, including the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark, have expressed their interest to exploit these resources.
