Arctic area to be expanded with three Karelia districts
© RIA Novosti. Ilya Timin

Arctic area to be expanded with three Karelia districts

Three districts in Russia's Karelia — Loukhsky, Kemsky and Belomorsky — may be added to the country's list of Arctic areas, according to Yelena Lashkina, aid to and press secretary of the Russian Minister of Economic Development.

Karelian authorities had earlier complained that the republic had not been included in the USSR's Arctic zone despite half of its area being in the extreme north, virtually in the Arctic. Documents for the inclusion of the Loukhsky, Kemsky and Belomorsky districts in the Arctic area have been prepared later on.

"The corresponding draft law has been submitted in due order to the Russian Government. The final decision rests with the President," Lashkina said.

The expansion of the Russian Arctic area must follow the consideration of a number of factors, including whether such a move is reasonable economically, scientifically and socially. Moreover, the Ministry of Economic Development has developed criteria for a territory to be included in the Arctic area, which are to be included in the law at a later date, Lashkina said.