On March 26-27, after a six-year break, the 6th International Arctic Forum (IAF) “The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue” was held in Murmansk. It was dedicated to the 500^th anniversary of the opening of the Northern Sea Route (Northern Sea Route, NSR). The IAF was organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian government. This year, the forum was attended by about 1,300 participants and media representatives from 21 countries, as well as about 230 representatives of Russian and foreign businesses from more than 100 companies. These figures indicate that the event was truly international and significant.

It should be noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the Arctic Forum and voiced a number of fundamental decisions for the socio-economic development of the Arctic. According to him, Moscow is in favor of equal cooperation in the Arctic, including scientific research, climate protection, emergency response, and industrial development. Russia, Putin emphasized, is ready to work together not only with the Arctic states, but also with all those who share responsibility for a stable, sustainable future for the planet and are capable of making balanced decisions for decades to come. At the same time, according to President Putin, the key goal is to improve the quality of life for people in this harsh region. It is no coincidence that the Arctic Forum 2025 was held under the motto “Live in the North!”

It is noteworthy that in his speech at a meeting in Murmansk on the development of the macroregion and the Northern Sea Route (Northern Sea Route or NSR) Vladimir Putin noted that although the name of the Arctic itself comes from the constellation Ursa Major, everything must be done to ensure that it is not a “backwater”. According to the Russian leader, it is necessary to consistently improve the urban environment, improve the cities and towns of the Far North, and generally improve the quality of life of people so that they have interesting, well-paid work, modern education and healthcare systems. “So that living in the Arctic is truly comfortable and attractive,” Putin explained.

It is important to emphasize that MAF – 2025 has become a platform for international dialogue on such important issues as the development of the NSR, building up the investment and entrepreneurial potential of the Arctic zone, as well as environmental issues, humanitarian and cultural cooperation. In turn, the development of the Northern Sea Route as the main transport artery in the Arctic, the construction of new railway approaches to the northern ports will have a multiplier effect for the whole of Russia. Note, not only for our country, but also for friendly countries, in particular, China and India. As Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of Russia, Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of the IAF-2025, emphasized at the forum, “within the framework of the upcoming major international forums, including the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the Arctic theme will be taken into account and allocated to a separate block of the business program of events”.

It is quite obvious that the importance of the Arctic region for the whole world is growing every year, but at the same time the geopolitical struggle for positions in it is intensifying, especially considering the natural resources of the region. And they are truly inexhaustible. Thus, according to the US Geological Survey, at least 13% of the world’s oil reserves, 30% of natural gas, as well as deposits of gold, diamonds, copper, nickel, coal and many other resources are concentrated in the Arctic, of which at least half are located in Russia. The size of explored gas fields alone exceeds 1 trillion m³.

It is not surprising in this regard that the struggle for the riches of the Arctic could lead to World War III, as Western experts have repeatedly stated. And this is very dangerous, which cannot but cause concern for Russia. According to Vladimir Putin, the mechanism designed to solve the problems of the Arctic Council has degraded. Many Western states have taken a course towards confrontation have ceased scientific, educational and cultural contacts. The dialogue on preserving ecosystems beyond the Arctic Circle has also been curtailed.

President Putin while in Murmansk could not help but speak out about Washington’s plans to annex Greenland. According to him, the United States had such plans back in the 1860s: at that time, the possibility of annexing Greenland and Iceland was considered, but this idea did not receive support from Congress. “It is obvious that the United States will continue to systematically promote its geostrategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic,” Vladimir Putin noted.

Currently Russia is concerned about the fact that NATO countries, and not only those in the Arctic zone, are increasingly designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts, practicing the use of troops in these conditions, including the forces of Finland and Sweden, which recently joined the North Atlantic Alliance. As President Putin noted in this regard, “Russia is closely monitoring the development of the situation in this region, building an adequate response line, increasing the combat capabilities of the army and modernizing military infrastructure facilities, and we will respond to all this.”

Apparently in an adequate response to the process of militarization of the Arctic region by NATO countries, the Russian authorities are already actively changing the Arctic Development Strategy, approved five years ago and intended to be in effect until 2035. Let us recall that Russia’s current Arctic strategy was approved two years before the start of the NWO and assumed cooperation with all Arctic states that are now in an unfriendly camp with us. Today, Moscow is ready to expand the number of states actively operating in the Arctic at the expense of neutral countries. The Russian government plans to evaluate proposals for a new Arctic strategy after May 20, 2025.

However it should be emphasized that our country has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, which it has repeatedly stated at all levels, and saw this region exclusively as a zone of dialogue and international cooperation. However, this trend is not observed in Western countries. As the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov recently stated, Moscow does not see reciprocity from the countries of the Arctic region in developing cooperation in the Arctic, but maintains a commitment to dialogue. “Indeed, we do not see reciprocity from the Arctic countries now, but our interest remains,” Peskov told journalists at MAF-2025.

At the same time it should be noted that China and India have such an interest. Let us recall that Beijing had previously put forward the Polar Silk Road project as an addition to its large-scale One Belt, One Road initiative, and the White Paper on the country’s Arctic Policy, published in January 2018, stated that China remains an important state in the Arctic region, one of the continental countries located very close to the Arctic Circle. In this regard, it is not surprising that Beijing is showing an active interest in cooperating with Moscow in developing the Northern Sea Route, which would allow China to significantly reduce the delivery of its goods to Europe, which it is very interested in.

Another friendly country – India is not far behind China. For example, Moscow and New Delhi have been in dialogue for several days on the joint development of the NSR transit potential. In particular, as noted by Rosatom, the parties are working on options for cooperation “within the framework of the Eurasian Container Transit project, aimed at organizing a pilot line for international container transit through the NSR.”

So Russia is open and ready to cooperate in the Arctic with all countries interested in this, including neutral ones.

Sergey Saenko, International Observer

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