The United States declared its unwillingness to cooperate with Russia in the Arctic

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The United States recognizes Russia as a significant Arctic state, but is not ready to work together in the region in the near future. This was announced on Wednesday, February 15, by State Department adviser Derek Chollet.

“Russia is an important power in the Arctic. Nevertheless, our cooperation with her in the region in the foreseeable future seems impossible,” he said, speaking at a seminar at the Wilson think tank.

According to Chollet, this position of Washington is due to Moscow’s actions as part of a special operation to protect the Donbass. He also said that the United States intends to resume the projects of the Arctic Council, in which the Russian Federation does not participate.

The Arctic Council was established in 1996 at the initiative of Canada with the aim of cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development of the circumpolar regions. It also includes Russia, the USA, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The work of the council was suspended last year amid the Ukrainian conflict.

Earlier, on January 30, the Military Times reported that the US National Guard was preparing for possible conflicts with Russia and China in the Arctic. According to columnist Megan Myers, the Northern Strike exercise took place in northern Michigan in January. Their task was to check the readiness of the military for action in conditions of low temperatures.

The journalist specified that Latvian special forces also took part in the exercises. In addition, US allies, in particular Norway, are also active in the Arctic.

Prior to this, on November 21, Chairman of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Arctic Council, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Nikolai Korchunov said in an interview with Izvestia that the increasing military activity of NATO in the Arctic, including through the expansion of the bloc, is one of the main challenges in the field of security in the region. At the same time, he stressed that the Russian Federation in its policy proceeds from the fact that there are no issues in the Arctic that require a military solution.

On August 29, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance plans to increase its presence in the Arctic. He justified the actions of the alliance by the great strategic importance of the region.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that such statements are perceived by Russia as an expression of intent to oppose the Russian Federation and Russian interests in the Arctic and “Russia will secure its interests in a reliable way.”

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