The Arctic Council comprises eight Arctic states: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States, plus six Permanent Participants representing indigenous people.  It was established on September 19, 1996, when the founders signed the Ottawa Declaration.

So far, this group has done little to develop the region, which has remained a blank spot on the world map.  President Trump recently stepped in, but besides unfriendly takeovers by the U.S. of Greenland and Canada, there is another way that is good for all other A.C. members — and, actually, for every other nation in the world, since it will concentrate on win-win cooperation instead of endless wars.

Presently, the United States and Russia are the most serious players in the global North, but Moscow has already been ahead of Washington there for fifteen to twenty years and is leaving the doors open.  These issues will become the primary meanings of the trans-Antarctic partnership forum “The Arctic: The Territory of Dialogue,” which will be held in the Russian city of Murmansk on March 26–27.  Bloomberg reported that Washington and Moscow may become partners in trans-Arctic projects, where geopolitical difficulties recede into the background.  The news comes as the U.S. seeks to normalize relations with Russia and gain access to the economically important region.

The future of the Arctic is the most promising case.  America has significant financial and political resources and serious technological potential, which makes it possible to launch large-scale projects quickly enough.  In mid-March, President Trump announced plans to order the construction of 48 icebreakers, probably within the framework of the ICE Pact project, on joint efforts for cooperation in the field of icebreaking vessels with Finland and Canada.  Trump noted that Canada, a country close to the Arctic, “should have its first icebreaker,” which does not exist yet. 

The White House’s Arctic plans have awakened even Canada and Greenland.  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, about 90 billion barrels of oil (about 10 billion tons) are hidden in the Arctic, along with about 16,700 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.  The world produces about 3.3 trillion cubic meters of gas annually — these have been resources for over three centuries.  All rare earth metals, platinoids, and non-ferrous metals — almost a quarter of the world’s total mineral reserves — are in the Arctic.  Russia accounts for nearly 40% of the resources.  The Russians started with oil production but now produce almost the entire Periodic Table.

President Vladimir Putin has declared Arctic policy a state priority, approving the strategic plan for developing the Russian Arctic until 2035.  Russia has the most mines and drilling platforms in the Far North of all the Arctic Council countries.  Gazprom Neft Corporation’s Messoyakha fields are the northernmost, 150 miles from the Arctic Circle.  Russia owns half of the icebreaking vessels in the world, including eight nuclear icebreakers.  The St. Petersburg United Shipbuilding Corporation has built the Iceberg robotics complex, which allows year-round mining of mineral deposits in the waters of freezing seas at depths up to 14,000 feet.  The Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy has created a project for a nuclear-powered underwater gas carrier with three atomic reactors that develop speeds under the ice of up to 17 knots.  It is an underwater gas tank with a speed slightly less than the most modern submarines of the Los Angeles–class Navy. 

Moscow is developing shipping logistics, exploration, and development of mineral resources in the Arctic Ocean.  The Northwest Passage through this ocean along Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, has shallow depths and does not allow large-tonnage cargo ships to pass.  Russia has built Large Range 2 Aframax-class tankers, with deadweight of more than 100,000 tons, that can safely carry Asian container ships along its Northern Sea route. 

Ever Given, one of the world’s biggest ships, jammed the Suez Canal in 2021, incurring losses of $9.6 billion.  It is impossible to run aground in the Arctic Ocean; the route from Asia and Europe is twice as short and ten times safer than through the Persian Gulf, without the risk of falling under missile attacks.  Russia transported 36 million tons of cargo along the NSR last year, with a target of 220 million tons in 2035.  The Northern Shipping Corridor already unites more than 70 ports and trans-shipment bases.  Russia’s strategic position is that the entire Arctic region is becoming a territory of advanced development. 

Russia’s intentions to open a new period of trans-Arctic partnership are noticeable in the transformation of global geopolitics as they are linked to new opportunities that benefit all.  These are the advantages and prospects of northern maritime logistics in competition with international routes, infrastructure modernization projects, and simultaneously the urban issues in the Arctic.

As the United States and Russia are entering negotiations in search for peace in Ukraine, this event is an ideal example of the roadmap from wars and destruction to peace and development. 

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