WASHINGTON --
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Sunday for a trip focused on the future of the Arctic, a source of growing tension with China and a test of the strained U.S. relationship with Russia ahead of an expected Biden-Putin summit meeting.
Blinken was traveling first to Copenhagen, where he will meet Monday with Danish leaders before going on to Iceland for a ministerial meeting of the eight-country Arctic Council on Wednesday and Thursday.
In Reykjavik, all eyes will be on a meeting between Blinken and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov -- the first high-level meeting between the two quarreling powers since Joe Biden took office in January.