Russia Says It Aims to Preserve Arctic Council, Not Build Rival Body

Russia's senior official in the Arctic Council, Vladislav Maslennikov, said Moscow's goal is to preserve the organization rather than establish an alternative to it, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Maslennikov, who represents Russia at the Arctic Council within the Russian Foreign Ministry, said there is still hope that the body will emerge from what he described as an almost five-year period of "hibernation," TASS reported.

The Arctic Council, established in 1996, brings together eight Arctic states — Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden — along with representatives of indigenous peoples, to address issues of cooperation in the region, including environmental protection and sustainable development.

The council's activities have been significantly curtailed in recent years amid broader tensions between Russia and Western nations. Maslennikov's comments, as cited by TASS, suggest Russian officials continue to view the existing council framework as the preferred venue for Arctic cooperation, rather than pursuing a separate mechanism outside it.

TASS did not provide further details in the excerpt regarding a specific timeline or conditions under which the council's full functioning might resume.