WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) – The spokesman indicated that the US government was willing to expand its environmental and resource cooperation with Russia in the region.
"Over the years, Russia has been an effective interlocutor with the United States and other countries that have significant claims in the Arctic," Earnest told reporters on board Air Force One on Monday.
"We have seen a pretty cooperative effort on the parts of these nations to ensure that resources in the Arctic are effectively managed," he said. "And we continue to urge not just Russia but other countries with interest in the Arctic to continue to pursue that effective cooperation."
Obama has been heavily criticized by environmentalists for approving Shell’s drilling for oil in the remote Arctic region, but he is also under fire from major US energy corporations for preventing wider oil drilling in environmentally protected regions.
