Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov and Ambassador of Iceland to Russia Arni Thor Sigurdsson discussed bilateral cooperation within the Arctic Council and the regional agenda.

In May 2021, Iceland will cede its chairmanship of the Arctic Council to Russia that will preside in the Council for two years, until 2023.

“The officials discussed the current state of Russian-Icelandic relations and the prospects for the resumption of political contacts as restrictive measures are lifted, as well as topical regional affairs, including cooperation within the Arctic Council, taking into account the upcoming transition of chairmanship from Iceland to Russia in May 2021 for the next two years,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.

Earlier, Nikolai Korchunov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador at Large for International Cooperation in the Arctic, said Russia would continue efforts to minimize anthropogenic environmental damage to the Arctic during its chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

The Arctic Council was established in 1996 under the Ottawa Declaration and is a high-level inter-governmental forum for facilitating regional cooperation, especially in the field of environmental protection. Member countries include Denmark with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States, Finland and Sweden.