Prospects of the Russia-Canada cooperation in the Arctic

• Main Author: Toporikova Y.M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: LLC Center for Information and Legal Support for the Development of the Arctic 2022
• Subjects: arctic; russia; canada; cooperation; international relations; scipo; demo; Arctic; Canada; Arctic Council
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.24412/2658-4255-2022-1-35-44; https://doaj.org/article/45fdfbcc4f4d4498bd67e77e01aa524e

Russia and Canada are the two largest Arctic states with similar natural, geographical and social features, which makes it possible to fairly consider them as “natural partners”. Russia-Canada cooperation has declined in a number of spheres since 2014. The Arctic, being a region where countries possess interrelated interests and encounter similar challenges, is likely to become a re-launching pad for the good-neighborly relations between Russia and Canada. Remarkably, both Russian and Canadian politicians and experts have stressed potential mutual benefits from the bilateral cooperation and expressed the willingness for a rapprochement. Therefore, the Russia-Canada partnership faces positive prospects, which creates opportunities for a progressive development. In 2021-2023, while the Russian Federation is chairing the Arctic Council, there is an appropriate opportunity to launch a new chapter in the relations between Russia and Canada, both through multilateral and bilateral collaboration. Thus, the analysis of the most advantageous spheres of cooperation is of a particular interest.