WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — At the previous Arctic ministerial in Iqaluit, Canada in April 2015, Russia was represented by its Minister of Natural Resources Sergey Donskoy.
"He will definitely be invited… It will be the Fairbanks ministerial that will be held in May of 2017, and we are very hopeful that Minister Lavrov will be there," Papp said. "Secretary [John] Kerry, who has worked very closely with him, will in all likelihood have moved on, and there will be a new secretary of state, but I am certain that it is one of our highest priorities to make sure that Minister Lavrov is there."
The ministerial meetings are held every two years at the passing over the chairmanship between the member states. Finland will assume the chairmanship for the 2017-1019 period.
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic countries. The forum is comprised of eight nations — the United States Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
The United States chairs the Arctic Council until the May 2017 ministerial meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Fairbanks, Alaska.
