May 19, 2021
Katarina Kertysova
This week, the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the leading intergovernmental forum for Arctic affairs, will pass from Iceland to Russia for a two-year term. Russia will take the baton at a time when the organization grapples with multiple challenges and Russia-West relations have hit another historic low. COVID-19 has caused a major disruption to the Icelandic chairmanship agenda, while the preceding Finnish chairmanship (2017-2019) was negatively affected by the Trump administration’s policy departure on clean energy and climate change, which put the U.S. out of step with other Arctic governments and jeopardized efforts to adopt a ministerial declaration in 2019. Military buildup in the Arctic, coupled with the emerging narrative of great power competition, further undermine the cooperative spirit that the Arctic Council represents.
Russia’s Lavrov, US s Blinken agree to meet in Iceland next week Thursday, 13 May 2021 6:18 AM
[ Last Update: Thursday, 13 May 2021 6:18 AM ] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his American counterpart Antony Blinken have agreed to meet in the Icelandic capital next week, amid heightened tensions between the two Cold War rivals.
On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two top diplomats, in a phone conversation, had discussed their upcoming meeting on the sidelines of the 12th Arctic Council Ministerial in Reykjavik next week.
“The sides discussed the timeline of other Russian-US contacts for the upcoming period, including Washington’s proposal on the organization of the Russia-US summit,” the statement said, according to the TASS news agency.
12th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting convenes in Reykjavík
10 May 2021
On 20 May, Iceland will host the 12
th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Reykjavik and online. The meeting marks the end of the two-year Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council and the beginning of the Russian Federation’s Chairmanship for the years 2021-2023. The meeting is also the first to be hosted in-person, under the auspices of the Arctic Council, since the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to gatherings in early 2020. Owing to the situation the meeting will be held in reduced format, with Foreign Ministers from the eight Arctic States and representatives of the Indigenous Permanent Participants on site in Reykjavik and the majority of delegates joining the meeting through an online platform. The meeting will review and welcome around 80 deliverables compiled by the Council’s Working Groups during the Icelandic Chairmanship. Arctic Ministers furthermore plan to sign a Reykjavik Declaration an
Iceland s final Senior Arctic Officials meeting marks successful Chairmanship and hits record participation en.portnews.ru - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from en.portnews.ru Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 18:06
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid (pictured here opening the Estonian parliament on April 4, 2019 in Tallinn) says Estonia’s technical and scientific expertise would allow the country to make important contributions to the Arctic Council as an observer state. (Raigo Pajula/AFP via Getty Images)
Estonia’s long history of polar research, coupled with its current scientific and technological expertise, would allow it to make important contributions to the Arctic Council as an observer, President Kersti Kaljulaid told an international audience on Thursday.
“We, in our way, are seeking to become observers, to become contributors, to work with the scientific community and the political community to make sure that our Arctic is preserved,” Kaljulaid said.