The Arctic must become an area of guaranteed peace and cooperation, says Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Soon the Arctic may become a major centre of energy resources and global transport, and although it could provide the Russian Federation with exciting new prospects, global warming is to blame. Currently, there are about five billion conditional tonnes of hydrocarbons trapped along the Lomonosov Ridge alone, and many countries are already laying claim to the newly accessible riches of the Arctic. However, there's no need for conflict according to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who said yesterday that the Arctic will always be an area of peace, and, more important, cooperative investment.
About one-fourth of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are difficult to access and extract, but nevertheless, these resources have already become a matter of debate at the highest levels. Such reserves are extremely important for Russia, whose oil and gas resources remain its primary export commodity. In addition to Russia, the USA, Canada, Denmark and Norway have already laid claim to the Arctic shelf. Rather than putting up a fight, Russia will cooperate with them, Vladimir Putin said yesterday addressing the international forum "The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue".
"Unfortunately, we have to face the harbingers of a future struggle over the Arctic. We are closely monitoring the situation in the region and making our own knowledgeable predictions. And we can clearly see that most of these ominous scenarios lack real grounds and are invented to foster international disputes in the region for the sake of profit – in other words, it's a case of fishing in troubled waters, as they say," the prime minister remarked.
"Indeed, the Arctic is located at the juncture of serious geopolitical and economic interests. However, I have no doubt at all that the existing problems in the Arctic, including those related to the continental shelf, can be resolved in a spirit of partnership through negotiations and on the basis of existing international law," he continued.
An agreement with Norway on delineating maritime territories and cooperating in the Arctic Ocean has already been signed. It is the product of difficult talks: they lasted for decades and sometimes even came to a standstill. But finally, the documents have been signed, and a dialogue has been established.
Russia has a lot in common with other Arctic nations: its experience in exploring severe Northern territories spans ten centuries. Russians charted the Northern Sea Route, founded the Arctic icebreaker fleet and were forerunners in polar aviation. Finally, it was Russia that gained the unique experience of building industrial cities above the Arctic Circle, although it's worth noting that such endeavors could not always be environmentally or even economically justified. Now, Putin said, Russia will take these issues into consideration as it demonstrates a strategy for developing the Russian north.
The top priority is to create living conditions for the region's inhabitants. Only 1.5% of Russian citizens are living above the Arctic Circle, but this 1.5% produces 11% of the national output and some 22% of Russia's entire exports. In terms of these communities, Vladimir Putin also issued a call to treat with respect the socio-economic infrastructure and traditions of the indigenous peoples and small Arctic nations that inhabit the region.
Supporting incentives for economic growth and large-scale domestic and foreign investment will be a second priority. But according to Vladimir Putin, "not a single industrial project in the Russian Arctic will be implemented without due consideration for the most stringent environmental concerns." If the region is treated irresponsibly, global problems rather than global benefits may be the result. This is the principled stance of the Russian Government.
"We will be guided by [this principle] in the development of the Yamal Peninsula, the Shtokman deposit in the Barents Sea, the northern part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Yakutia and hundreds of other production and infrastructure facilities being established by the state and the business community," Mr Putin declared.
Vladimir Putin then outlined a serious spring-cleaning of the Arctic territories as a third national priority. When the prime minister visited Franz Josef Land last April, he was ashamed to see "such a scrap yard left after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent reduction of military activity." Now Russia will have to take out the trash in the most direct sense of the word.
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Bases of national policy in the Arctic through 2020.
The following are Russia's basic interests in the Arctic:
a) Using the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation as Russia's strategic resource centre promoting the country's socio-economic development
b) Maintaining the Arctic as an area of peace and cooperation
c) Preserving the Arctic's ecological systems
d) Using the Northern Sea Route as a unified domestic transport and communication line
During the first stage (2008-2010), geological and geophysical, hydrographical and cartographical projects will be conducted in an effort to substantiate the exterior border of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Target programmes and investment projects will be implemented as part of a public-private partnership to this end. At the second stage (2011-2015), the following must be provided: international registration of the exterior boundary of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and the utilisation of competitive benefits in producing and transporting energy resources on this basis; the restructuring of economic zones based on the development of the region's raw mineral and biological resources; the creation and development of communications infrastructure and management systems in the North Sea Route for the purpose of Eurasian transit; and the completion of a unified information space in Russia's Arctic zone. At the third stage (2016-2020), the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation must be transformed into Russia's leading strategic resource centre.
The above document was approved by the President of the Russian Federation on September 18, 2008.
by Anastasia Savinykh