How Arctic Could Form Key Part of Ukraine Ceasefire Talks
A ceasefire in Ukraine will be the subject of presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump when they meet in Alaska, but cooperation between Russia and the United States in the Arctic would also be a salient subject for the discussion, said a regional expert Nowsweek.
Andreas Østhagen, of the Nansen Fridtjof Institute in Oslo, said that Anchorage is the natural location for the presidents to discuss the surrounding strategic region, which attracts the growing attention of the two countries.
He said that oil and gas exploration, developing the Northern Sea route and fishing are areas of mutual interest that could be discussed.
Why it matters
Russia and the United States have given priority to the Arctic, which makes it a natural subject for a summit organized in Alaska, which is the gateway to the region where the Bering Strait is a direct maritime passage between the Oceans of the Pacific and the Arctic.
What to know
Russian and American presidents will meet at the Elmendorf-Richardson common base in Anchorage on Friday, during which the Trump administration hoped for a breakthrough in the Russian-Ukraine war.
In addition to the war in Ukraine, Østhagen said that Russia could discuss the development of the North Sea Road (NSR) in a commercial traffic lane, which is a Russian project in which the United States plays a role, but which is not the main engine of.
The NSR, which runs along the Arctic coast, is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region, and its strategic value sounds with Trump’s statements on Greenland, which it wants to acquire.
Thanks to sailing ships, oil tankers, loose carriers carrying minerals and minerals, and ships serving oil, gas and mining operations in Alaska and Siberia. It becomes more navigable due to global warming.
Under the Biden administration and the first Trump administration, efforts were made to extend the collaboration between Russia and the United States, focusing on safer traffic in the Bering Strait, which divides Russia Alaska, said Østhagen, who is also a principal researcher at the Arctic Institute.
“If a shipping traffic takes this shortcut between Europe and Asia, it must go through the Russian Arctic and via the Bering Strait,” said Østhagen.
The Bering Sea also houses some of the most profitable fish stocks in the world, where not only Russia and the United States are actively fishing, but also in other countries like China.
There are potential plans for the development of oil and gas in the Arctic, and joint exploration in common areas such as the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait, could be taken into account, although profitability and political factors influence such projects.
“There is a lot to talk about in terms of practical functional cooperation, first and foremost to try to set up shipping or more oil and gas exploration in the Arctic,” said Østhagen.
What people say
Andreas Østhagen, research director of the Arctic and the political ocean at the Nansen Fridtjof Institute, said Nowsweek:: “The fact that the two presidents put the Arctic to their agendas made Alaska a natural point to discuss the region.”
“Russia could perhaps offer the development of the Northern Sea route to a viable commercial traffic route which is a Russian project, in which the United States plays a role, but which is not the main engine of,” he said.
What happens next
The White House described the summit on Friday in Anchorage as a “listening exercise”, for Trump. Before that, European leaders are likely to put pressure on the United States to keep the interests of Ukraine in mind.
