The Russian Security Council believes that the Arctic has no potential sources of conflict today and that its development is only possible with international cooperation. This opinion was stated by Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Vakhrukov at a plenary session of the 8^th The Arctic: Today and the Future forum in St. Petersburg.

"We fully understand that the Arctic is a territory of peace and dialogue. We are well aware that there are no potential sources of conflict in the Arctic today, and there should not be any. This is the reason why the Arctic's sustainable development in the future is primarily predicated on extensive international cooperation," said Vakhrukov.

He also read out a message to the forum participants from Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.

Patrushev's message reads: "A political and legal foundation for international interaction in developing the polar expanses and addressing pressing issues on the Arctic agenda has been laid today."

St. Petersburg hosted the 8^th The Arctic: Today and the Future forum on December 5-7. More than 2,000 people from 40 Russian regions and 20 countries registered for the forum. Arctic.ru and Rossiya Segodnya were the forum's information partners.