The new coordinator of the US State Department for the Arctic, Jim Dehart, considers it important to maintain cooperation with the Russian Federation in this region. He stated this during a video conference organized by the Woodrow Wilson Research Center in Washington.

“Russia is one of the Arctic countries, occupies a significant part of the Arctic and is a member of the Arctic Council. We have experience of interaction with Russia in this area. Very good cooperation has developed, and it continues, which is simply necessary for such areas as research work, search and rescue operations, disaster relief, and so on. This is an important, real collaboration, yielding real results, and it must be continued, ”said Dehart.

In his opinion, the Arctic Council is the "optimal platform" for maintaining such a partnership.

“I am confident that we will continue to be guided by the already formed approach to interaction with Russia through the Arctic Council, within the framework of which many important tasks can be accomplished,” Dehart stressed.

However, he doubted the possibility of "completely isolating" the Arctic region "from the problems" that exist between the US and Russia, "given the exclusivity of the Arctic."

“I don’t even know if we can achieve this in full,” said a spokesman for the State Department.

According to him, Russian-American relations "have become complicated", while the Russian Federation creates "certain difficulties" to achieve US goals in the Arctic.

“First of all, we need communication channels so that we can exclude the occurrence of an incident that could cause a conflict that neither one nor the other side is seeking. I believe that such mechanisms are necessary, ”- said Dehart.

"Provocative actions"

Recall that Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it is interested in maintaining stability in the Arctic and developing this process, as well as in cooperation with other countries in this area. At the same time, the Russian Federation intends to defend its national interests in the region.

As the Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Nikolai Korchunov said the other day, "Russia's increased attention to the Arctic, including in terms of ensuring security in the region, is due to its growing importance" for the Russian side.

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“The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation produces more than 10% of GDP and 20% of Russian exports. That is why Russia is interested in preserving the Arctic as a zone of peace, cooperation and low military-political tension, ”Korchunov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

At the same time, according to him, the United States maintains "the regular presence of its nuclear-powered multipurpose submarines in the northern latitudes through the organization of military services in the Barents and Norwegian Seas, as well as Coast Guard ships off the northern coast of Alaska." He also said that the United States is rebuilding the Second Operational Fleet, whose area of ​​responsibility includes the North Atlantic and part of the Arctic Ocean.

The diplomat noted that NATO countries, including the United States, under the guise of accusations against Russia of "militarizing the region", continue to build up their military potential, attracting non-Arctic states, increasing the scale of exercises in the Arctic, in the scenario of which "Russia is considered as the main threat."

Recall that in early May, a strike group of the North Atlantic Alliance, which consisted of American and British ships, entered the Barents Sea. According to the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy, "in the course of the exercises, the tasks of hitting targets on Russian territory and intercepting Russian ballistic missiles were practiced." According to him, the RF regards such actions as "provocative".

"There is no single position"

According to the Dean of the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, Andrei Sidorov, against the background of recent US actions in the Arctic, the statement of the State Department representative about the importance of cooperation with Russia in the region is “a positive drop in a sea of ​​negative measures” on the part of Washington.

"The call of an American official to improve relations with the Russian Federation in the Arctic region can be perceived as a kind of signal for Moscow about the possibility of certain agreements and consultations on this issue," Sidorov said in an interview with RT.

At the same time, he admitted that this initiative can only be part of the "political game" with which Washington "wants to camouflage its true intentions" to oppose Moscow. 

“The United States is clearly lagging behind in the Arctic race, they are not ready for it: the American side does not have a sufficient number of icebreakers, as well as other necessary resources. Russia turned out to be much more advanced in this regard. Meanwhile, climatic changes are leading to the fact that the Northern Sea Route may soon become the main artery between the two oceans. The United States does not like this, and now, hiding behind cooperation, they may try to prevent Russia from developing this project, "Sidorov suggested.

Oleg Aleksandrov, associate professor of the Department of International Relations and Russian Foreign Policy at MGIMO, in turn, noted in a conversation with RT that if the statement of the new coordinator of the State Department reflects the real intentions of Washington, then "such an approach should only be welcomed." 

“Dehart's rhetoric looks more conciliatory than what we have heard before from the State Department and the Pentagon. The fact that he suggested remembering the Arctic as a field for joint action, and not confrontation and search for an enemy, is a positive step, ”Aleksandrov said.

However, he admits that the judgments presented by Dehart may also indicate that the American establishment "does not have a single position regarding interaction with the Russian Federation in the Arctic."

“The ground is only being tested, options are being considered - from cooperation to confrontation,” the analyst said.

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Possible cooperation

At the same time, from the point of view of Oleg Aleksandrov, there are “no insoluble contradictions” between Russia and the United States regarding the development of the Arctic region, so a possible expansion of the partnership should not be ruled out.

As First Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yuri Averyanov said earlier in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian Federation and the United States regularly conduct a dialogue on this topic, and such contacts "are quite constructive and fruitful."

According to him, the parties are successfully working to improve the legal framework in the field of safety of navigation, fishing and scientific cooperation.

Oleg Aleksandrov noted that the United States and American companies are interested in exploration and production of natural resources in the Arctic on the shelf of the Arctic Ocean "both in their own zone and beyond."

“Earlier, even before the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions by the United States, Washington and Moscow were jointly engaged in the development of fields. However, now, in order to revive this cooperation, not only a partial lifting of restrictions will be required, but also the political will of the authorities of both states, ”the expert noted.

At the same time, analysts agree that it is not worth expecting any concrete steps from the United States to interact with Russia in the development of the Arctic, at least until the presidential elections.

“I don’t think Trump will do this, because he is afraid of accusations of neglecting the strategic interests of the United States in the Arctic,” Aleksandrov concluded.