Chilingarov: Russia will not yield its leading position in Arctic research
© Vladimir Trefilov

Chilingarov: Russia will not yield its leading position in Arctic research

Arctic research is necessary, and Russia will not yield its leading position in studying it, Special Presidential Representative for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic Artur Chilingarov said, according to RIA Novosti.

Chilingarov spoke at the 7th International Meeting of Representatives of Arctic Council Member States, Observer States and the Foreign Scientific Community, which is taking place on August 29-30 in Sabetta.

"I, as a scientist, need to once again emphasize the importance of continuing research in the Arctic to solve practical problems such as ice escorts and emergency spill cleanup, as well as forecasting future changes in the Arctic, assessing the consequences of such changes and adapting to them," said the researcher.

According to Chilingarov, joint research has always been and remains the most important aspect of international cooperation in the Arctic, and scientific cooperation is one of the Arctic Council's priorities.

"I hope that this year's agreement on strengthening international Arctic scientific cooperation will allow us to finally start implementing the international polar initiative, which we have been talking about for so many years," Chilingarov added.

Chilingarov congratulated Chinese scientists on their successful transarctic voyage of the scientific icebreaker Shi Long.

"But we are also not going to yield our leading position in Arctic research," Chilingarov said.

"In early November of this year, we plan to establish the North Pole 41 drifting research station. The station will be established by freezing an icebreaker into ice, which will become a safe base for polar explorers," Chilingarov said. He noted that the Russian scientific drift program is open to wide international participation, and invited foreign scientists to think about the possibility of working at any stage of the station.