Battle on the Ice

Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev compares the Arctic to a Christmas tree, and the Moscow Arctic Forum will discuss the international battle for the Arctic and the preservation of its ecosystem

The International Arctic Forum "The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue" is opening today in Moscow. The event, which will last two days, will be attended by delegates from 15 countries, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is also chairman of the board of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society, which organized the forum. The ruling Prince of Monaco Albert II and the President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson will also come to Moscow. Among the topics to be discussed are: the international battle for the Arctic, the development of Arctic natural resources, and the preservation of its ecosystem.

On the eve of the forum, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources gathered journalists in a narrow circle and told why, in his opinion, such events are needed - this is a preparatory stage for more significant meetings. In this regard, Yuri Trutnev recalled last year's climate summit in Copenhagen. Then, according to him, "humanity could not agree on anything." It will also not be easy to agree on the Arctic - several countries claim its territory at once: Russia, Canada, the USA, Norway and Denmark. Intermediate meetings of all interested parties are needed to "check the clock" on their positions.

Russia lays claim to large areas of the Arctic shelf. According to Trutnev, the "Russian sector" of the Arctic may contain up to 100 billion tons of oil and gas reserves. Russia has several times submitted applications to the UN Commission on the Law of the Sea for its right to the shelf, but each time it was required to provide additional data. Collecting additional information on bathymetry and seismic will cost the budget 2 billion rubles, the minister said yesterday. Now in the area of ​​​​the underwater Lomonosov Ridge, the scientific expeditionary vessel "Akademik Fedorov" is operating.

To the question of one of the journalists whether any country would apply for the shelf before Russia, Trutnev replied that "there is no question of who will apply first." “This is not a sprint. The main thing is the quality of the relevant materials,” the minister said. The expedition "Academician Fedorov" will present the first results of the work before the end of autumn, and Russia plans to submit a new application to the UN until 2013.

The Minister is confident that hydrocarbon production on the shelf can be profitable, despite the fact that Russia has large reserves of oil and gas on land. “On the shelf, like on a Christmas tree, you can hang a lot of orders for our industry,” he explained. - The shelf can give a guaranteed volume of orders, which will pull the industry to the level of modern technologies, including in shipbuilding. However, in order for private companies to benefit from geological exploration on the shelf, it is necessary, according to him, to amend the legislation. Only two companies, Gazprom and Rosneft, have the right to develop fields on the shelf.

Trutnev spoke about two initiatives of his ministry - the creation of an environmental risk insurance system for offshore fuel production projects and the formation of an Environmental Modernization Fund to finance projects to reduce environmental harm. The minister said that he had already received from the leadership of the country "a nod that this is interesting."

All these questions will be discussed at the forum opening today. It will be held in the I academic building of Moscow State University. Lomonosov. University students are not very happy about the arrival of polar explorers, judging by the discussions on forums and blogs. “There is an emergency situation at Moscow State University: classes on September 22-23 are canceled, canteens are not working today, the university is flooded with employees of the FSO, the Ministry of Emergencies, hundreds of guest workers and dozens of officials of various ranks,” blogger wisegizmo was indignant yesterday. Further, he writes that at one of the breaks, "starved students and several teachers - judging by the expensive clothes, from the Faculty of Public Administration" staged a spontaneous picket under the slogan "Give canteens!" and “Down with Putin – you give seminars!”

Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center: "The Arctic is a new facade, not a new front"

Literally before our eyes, the actively used geopolitical space is expanding. For centuries, the Arctic has been the target of scientific expeditions and only very limited economic activity. During the Cold War, it became a space for basing and combat patrols of strategic missile cruisers, strategic aviation, as well as nuclear weapons testing and combat launches (again, test ones) of ballistic missiles.

The trajectories of combat flights of missiles from bases on the territory of the USSR to targets in the United States and vice versa were also laid through the North Pole. The end of the Cold War and global warming have dramatically changed the situation. The potential theater of military operations has turned into a sphere of economic interests of a number of states. Freed from the ice, the Arctic is increasingly perceived as a giant pantry of valuable resources, primarily hydrocarbons. At the same time, the Northern and less and less Arctic Ocean is turning into a water area suitable for navigation, including between Western Europe and East Asia. Such a metamorphosis carries the risk of exacerbating rivalry between coastal states. However, there are good reasons to believe that the interest in cooperation will outweigh the incentive to compete.

Arctic XXI century. opens a new direction in the politics of Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark and the United States. Each of these states receives a new geopolitical facade. It is in the interests of all these countries to ensure that no new front lines are drawn between them.

(Source: "The Arctic as seen from Moscow", Carnegie Moscow Center, September 2010)