Arctic Council decisions without Russia ‘illegitimate’

Decisions taken by the Arctic Council without the participation of Russia will be illegitimate and violate the principle of consensus, Russia’s ambassador to the US has said, according to the Tass state-owned news agency.

“It is simply impossible to effectively resolve the problems of the far north without Russia,” Anatoly Antonov was quoted as saying in the Telegram channel of Russia’s US embassy. He added that Russia occupied about 60 percent of the region.

Antonov was speaking in relation to Wednesday’s statement from the council that it was resuming “limited” activities without Russia’s participation.

On March 3, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States — sometimes known as the “Arctic 7” — suspended their work in the council.