Russia's scientific center on the Spitsbergen archipelago will be up and running in 2016, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi said in an interview with Rossiya Segodnya.

"The funding for our scientific center on Spitsbergen for next year has been earmarked. If all goes well, the entire range of meteorological research in the Arctic zone adjacent to Spitsbergen will be carried out," he said.

The center is in good condition; it has been renovated, new equipment has been delivered and specialists are already working there, he said.

"Of course, the number of specialists and the scope of research need to be expanded, and this depends on funding," he said.

At present, Spitsbergen's status under international law is determined by the Spitsbergen Treaty (Svalbard Treaty) signed on February 9, 1920 in Paris, which helps ensure Russia's geopolitical interests and strengthens peace and stability in the Arctic.