MOSCOW (Sputnik) — At the opening of the plenary session on the Arctic development in Moscow, Hautala state:
"Without long-term cooperation [on Arctic region] there is no development. And vice versa, without development, the long-term cooperation is in danger."
The issues of development of the Arctic region will be solved if addressed jointly with other Arctic Council members "in a favorable ecological sphere," Ivanov noted.
The two-day conference "International Cooperation in the Arctic: New Challenges and Vectors of Development" kicked off on Wednesday with expert sessions devoted to the 20th Anniversary of the Arctic Council, the eight-member intergovernmental forum. Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden represent the member countries.