U.S. To Lead A Fractured Arctic Council For The Next Two Years
The United States is set to take over the two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council, and although there is a lot of uncertainty over how the U.S. will wield its influence, it will be taking the helm for a period of time that could see much more activity north of the Arctic Circle.
The Arctic Council is an international forum consisting of the eight nations that have territory in the Arctic – Canada, the U.S., Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Up until recently it has been held up as a model of international cooperation. The members worked together on disaster response and environmental stewardship, leaving politics out of the council, all in the name of peace.
But the war in Ukraine has injected tension into the Council, creating conflict where it once didn’t exist. Canadian officials lambasted Russia’s involvement in Ukraine during its two-year tenure (2013-2015), using its platform as Council Chair. With western sanctions on top Russian officials, in February Canadacancelled the Arctic Showcase event in Ottawa that was supposed to be held on April 23 because it did not want sanctioned Russian officials to attend.
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Russia has retaliated. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has attended every meeting since 2004 but chose to sit this one out in protest. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin, who has been targeted by western sanctions, visited Svalbard in mid-April, an archipelago that belongs to Norway. Norway protested his visit, and it was seen as a provocation ahead of the Arctic Council summit in Canada. Russia has also stepped up air patrols along its border with Norway in recent months, aggressive moves that have increased since its conflict with the West over Ukraine erupted in 2014.
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