He spoke about this during the presentation in Brussels of the EU strategy for the Arctic.

"Coal, oil and gas must remain underground in the Arctic, and the European Commission is in favor of a global moratorium on their production," TASS quoted him as saying.

At the same time, he added that the extraction of mineral resources in the Arctic by the EU countries, while observing high environmental standards, is of great importance for the states of the union.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak spoke about oil and gas reserves in the Russian Arctic.

In December 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will grow in the Arctic and northern territories in the next decades.