New risks and opportunities for interstate cooperation in the Arctic

• Published in: Arctic and North
• Main Author: Pavel A. Gudev
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Northern Arctic Federal University 2019
• Subjects: the arctic; the arctic council; the northern sea route (nsr); commission on the limits of the continental shelf; spitsbergen; usa; nato; eu; scipo; droit; Arctic; Arctic Council; Northern Sea Route; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.17238/issn2221-2698.2019.36.57; http://www.arcticandnorth.ru/upload/iblock/1d1/47_68.pdf; https://doaj.org/article/7304a0dbeb434a1fbc332ebb95da2d2a

Despite the growing tension in Russia-West relations, the Arctic region continues to remain a zone of peace and cooperation. The level of interstate collaboration here is extremely high, unlike other maritime regions. The interaction is developing in scientific research, protection of the marine environment and biodiversity, regulation of fisheries, improvement of search and rescue efforts, control of oil spills, and regulation of navigation. However, interstate competition has not disappeared in the Arctic. The countries participating in the maritime activities in the region often have completely different priorities and are firmly defending their national interests. Under sanctions’ pressure, the Russian Federation is forced to seek new partners and allies in the Arctic. This choice is extremely difficult since the coincidence of positions on one issue or another is often minimal. In order to defend its interests, Russia needs to achieve such a format of interaction with the Arctic and non-Arctic countries which would be extremely mutually beneficial and work for the good of our country, but not to its detriment.