TASS has cited Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini as saying at the 2016 Arctic Frontiers international conference in Norway's Tromsø that the risk of an armed confrontation in the Arctic remains small and it should be this way in the future.

"The Arctic has been repeatedly referred to as a region where the risk of an armed confrontation is exceedingly small. This is true today and we want it to stay this way in the future. I'm glad to say Northern Europe is not concerned over the Arctic's future," he said, adding that credit for all regional achievements goes to international cooperation.

Soini stressed that the Arctic Council plays a major role in maintaining productive cooperation between regional states.

The Arctic Council was established in 1996 as an inter-governmental forum promoting regional cooperation.