Greenpeace’s vessel «Arctic Sunrise» has been released after nearly nine months of detention in Murmansk, following the organization’s demonstration against Arctic drilling in the Pechora Sea last fall.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister left Norway’s Svalbard archipelago Saturday evening and flew to the North Pole. On Sunday, he started to send tweets making fun of Norwegian authorities.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will not be present in next week’s Ministerial Meeting in Arctic Council, where the United States will take over chairmanship from Canada.
We need 222 billion rubles (€4.4 billion) for the implementation of our plans in the Arctic, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in the first meeting of Russia’s Arctic Commission.
Amidst Arctic sea ice reaching all-time minimum for late winter, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources says that Russia plans to establish a floating research station on an ice floe.
The overall goal for Norwegian Arctic Policy is to ensure that the current geopolitical tensions do not spill over and pose a challenge to peace and stability characterizing the region, says Foreign Minister Børge Brende.
Instead of expanding like normally this time of the year, sea ice vanished last month in huge areas north of Svalbard and in the northern Barents Sea. 2015 could be all-time minimum for late winter, likely to be followed by record little ice the coming summer.
Development of tourism is one of Russia’s prioritized areas to secure its presence on the archipelago of Svalbard. The state company Trust Arktikugol is now registered as a tour operator and could welcome its first guests to the Arctic wilderness.
The UK needs to up its game in the Arctic or risk being «outmaneuvered” by other states, and should start by appointing an ambassador to the region, according to a report by the House of Lords Arctic Committee.
Could the Northern Sea Route be suitable for shipment of fish from the Far East to the European parts of Russia and vice versa? Stake holders in Russia’s fisheries industry and fishery authorities believe so.
