On Tuesday, April 9, the 5th International Arctic Forum "The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue" started. To discuss topical issues of the socio-economic development of the Arctic territories, the leaders of the countries of this region of the Earth came to St. Petersburg.

So, in the plenary session, the theme of which was “The Arctic. Ocean of Opportunities, ”was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, her colleague from Sweden Stephan Leuven, as well as leaders of Finland and Iceland Sauli Niinistö and Gudni Torlacius Johanneson.

“I sincerely welcome all of you in St. Petersburg, in the Northern capital of Russia, in a city whose history is closely connected with the organization of legendary Arctic expeditions, with the industrial development of this unique region, the preservation of its nature and original culture,” Putin said in his opening remarks.

The head of state expressed his gratitude to foreign guests for their willingness to cooperate and for understanding their common responsibility for the future of the Arctic. He also recalled that in 2021 the Russian Federation will become the chairman of the Arctic Council (it includes Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Finland, the United States).

“We offer all member countries of this organization, as well as other states, cooperation in the Arctic. The priorities of our chairmanship are vital topics for the development of the Arctic: promoting environmentally friendly technologies in all areas - in industry, transport and energy, ”the Russian leader added.

Putin stressed that the resources that will be mined during the development of the Arctic should be put "at the service of humanity."

Arctic Development Strategy to 2035

This year, the Russian authorities intend to prepare and adopt a new strategy for the development of the Russian Arctic until 2035. According to Vladimir Putin, within the framework of the measures, it will be necessary to bring all the Arctic regions to a level not lower than the average Russian, while taking into account the problems of the indigenous and minority peoples of the North.

“Particular attention is the development of transport and other supporting infrastructure. We understand well that this is the basis, the necessary basis for future investments and business initiatives, ”the Russian president explained.

In this regard, the government is instructed to accelerate the development of a law on a special system of providing incentives for investors in the Arctic. The law should be adopted by the State Duma in the autumn session. At the same time, the Russian authorities intend to use all investment support tools, including those already tested in the framework of the development programs of the Russian Far East regions.

“In particular, the payment for icebreaker escort of vessels should be competitive and reasonable. Therefore, the state is investing its funds in this area in order to minimize the tariff burden on carriers, on business, ”he added.

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Putin outlined another task - to make the Northern Sea Route “safe and profitable for shippers”, since it is assumed that by 2025 the volume of freight traffic along this route will reach 80 million tons. Also for these purposes, by 2035, the composition of the Russian Arctic fleet will consist of at least 13 heavy linear icebreakers, including nine nuclear ones.

“We invite our foreign partners to work together to create port hubs at the end points of the route, I mean the Murmansk transport hub and port infrastructure in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,” Putin noted.

Ecology

A separate topic for discussion of the leaders was the environmental situation in the region. As the Russian leader noted, environmental threats are the main problem of the Arctic.

“Unfortunately, there is a thaw in the Arctic, it's true. The temperature in the Arctic rises four times faster than on the planet as a whole, ”Putin said.

At the same time, he noted the contribution of Finland to the solution of key issues of the conservation of the Arctic nature. In addition, the head of state spoke about more than 80 thousand tons of waste that had been removed and disposed of since 2012 during the general cleaning of the Arctic by the Russian side.

“In the coming years, within the framework of the“ Clean Environment ”federal project, we will eliminate six large objects of accumulated environmental harm in the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions, the Nenets Autonomous District, Karelia and Yakutia. We also have to clear the water area of ​​the Kola Bay on an area of ​​over 200 square kilometers, ”said the President of the Russian Federation.

He also called on colleagues to provide additional measures for the development of eco-tourism and the creation of the necessary infrastructure.

Military tensions in the region

There is no particular military tension in the Arctic, Vladimir Putin stressed. At the same time, the head of state recalled the exercises in this region, which NATO conducted. We are talking about the military maneuvers Trident Juncture ("United Trident"), held in Norway in the autumn of 2018. They became the largest in 16 years.

“We do not conduct such exercises. We conducted large-scale exercises, but it was very far from the responsibility zone of NATO, it was in the east, ”Putin said.

The head of state also stressed that the Russian side always invites foreign observers to their exercises.

Another issue was aviation activity in the Baltic Sea zone in the Arctic. Putin stressed that Russia is “much lower” than NATO. At the same time, the alliance refused the offer to fly only with the included transponders. He stressed that this is an absolutely sound initiative, albeit a difficult one from a technical point of view.

“For us, too, is not an easy decision (decision - RT ), but I gave the Ministry of Defense instructions to the General Staff, they are ready to implement it. But let NATO realize it too - then it will be clear what kind of military aircraft is flying, where it is currently located, ”the Russian president said.

On the situation with the United States and bilateral relations

Russia is ready to resume an equal dialogue with the United States, including on issues of concern to all mankind. Meanwhile, he pointed out that at the moment in the United States there is a crisis of the political system, which has not yet happened in history.

“The internal political situation in the USA has not become any easier, some new reasons are looking for attacks on President Trump ... Yes, there is a sharp election campaign, but if the candidate wins, then everyone agrees with that, it always has been, and unite around the head state to implement national goals. Now we see nothing of the kind in the States; on the contrary, the schism continues, ”the Russian leader explained.

At the same time, the head of state called the charges against the head of the White House Donald Trump that he allegedly entered into an agreement with Moscow to win the presidential election as “complete nonsense”. At the same time, an investigation was recently completed by US Special Prosecutor Robert Muller about Donald Trump’s alleged ties with Russia. The investigation found no evidence or evidence of cooperation between the parties.

At the same time, when asked whether the Russian leader is ready to accept an invitation from Donald Trump and go to the USA, Putin replied that the situation “must mature” by quoting the work of Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov “The Golden Calf”.

“There is such a phrase:“ Come on a visit, the old mother will be very happy, ”but did not leave the address. The situation should mature, ”the head of state replied.

Sanctions

According to the Russian president, the future of the country does not depend on sanctions, but is based on internal development and the effective use of its own economic resources. At the same time, restrictive measures have become an element of competition in the world, Putin added.

“It would be better without any restrictions that distort the market, distort world trade, lead to a slowdown in the growth of the world economy. It is better to do without it, but the implementation of Russian plans for the development of mineral resources, in general, just the development will not interfere, ”he urged.

The Russian leader called on the world community to return to the observance of the elementary norms of international law and recalled that any restrictions that are not approved by the UN Security Council are illegal. Putin also turned to the data of the European Commission, which calculated that the war of sanctions caused more damage to the European Union than Russia: the EU’s losses were about € 50 billion, the Russian losses were about € 25-26 billion.

Meanwhile, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that Moscow was guilty of becoming the subject of sanctions pressure. In this regard, Putin recalled that the discussion concerns the Arctic, rather than the Crimea, and appealed to the leaders of foreign countries to cooperate and coordinate in the region.

"We really would not want as a result of not taken timely measures, as a result of our criminal inaction, the Arctic would turn into some kind of Crimea, and the Crimea would turn into a desert," he stressed.