Russia is clearly the major regional player in the Arctic. The northern sea route plays an important role in Russian transportation strategy, reducing the route from Europe to Asia by at least one-third of its length. The Arctic is also important for Russia’s security equation, serving as a base for the country’s Northern Fleet.
Russia’s political leadership has always paid close
attention to the Arctic. As far back as 1910, the Navy was sent to explore the
northern sea route.
In 1926, Moscow declared any landmass inside the triangle
between the North Pole, the Bering Strait and the Kola Peninsula as Soviet
territory.
In 1997, Russia ratified the United Nations Convention of
the Law of the Sea and since then has always been committed to the existing
legal and institutional framework and the “orderly settlement of possible
overlapping claims.”
With the longest Arctic border, Russia has significant
claims to the continental shelf and, if accepted, would provide it with roughly
45 percent of the Arctic seabed. Understandably, the region plays an important
part in the country’s political discourse.
Last week, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke
at an international arctic forum in Moscow and underlined the importance of the
Arctic for Russia, while making a case for improving cooperation with other
Arctic nations. Putin’s speech was an important sign of Russia’s craving for
multilateralism in the Arctic. Good relations with neighbors and settlement of
disputes are necessary for the successful extension of Russia’s continental
shelf.
As part of its “diplomatic offensive,” Russia reached an
agreement with Norway and ended the dispute between the two countries over the
demarcation line in the Barents Sea. The Kremlin is also forming closer ties
with Ottawa on Arctic governance and maritime sovereignty. Despite some
disagreements, the United States and Russia are successfully cooperating in the
Arctic Council and already set their demarcation line in 1990.
Although there are visible differences among Arctic and
non-Arctic players, the good cooperation record shows that speculations about a
new Cold War in the Arctic are overblown. But these issues can be resolved in
the context of the existing legal and institutional framework.
**Danila Bochkarev is a fellow with the Brussels-based
EastWest Institute’s global security team. The views expressed here are those
of the author.