FAIRBANKS (Sputnik) — Russia sees no potential for a conflict in the Arctic region, Lavrov said at the tenth biennial Arctic Council ministerial meeting.
"Russia has, and will continue to ensure the Arctic remains a region of peace, stability and cooperation. There is no potential here for any type of conflict," Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister noted that the issue of reginal security was discussed during the ministers’ working dinner on Wednesday.
Later on Thursday, Lavrov said that the participants of the tenth biennial Arctic Council ministerial meeting agreed that no use of force will be needed to resolve critical issues in the region.
"We have affirmed our commitment to solve all the issues that may emerge in the Arctic through political negotiations… We obviously don’t see any issues that would require the use of force. Our partners agree with that," Lavrov stated on Thursday.
Lavrov stressed that the Fairbanks Declaration of 2017, that has been adopted earlier in the day, states all parties' commitment to the peaceful development of the Arctic region.
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum comprised of the eight Arctic nations. Six international organizations representing Arctic Indigenous Peoples have a permanent participant status. There are currently twelve non-Arctic observer nations at the Council.
During the ministerial meeting, Finland took over the rotating Arctic Council chairmanship from the United States for the period 2017-2019.
