International relations getting frosty in the Arctic

WASHINGTON—A Russian deputy prime minister who is blacklisted from traveling to most of Europe provoked a diplomatic scuffle last weekend when he passed through Norway on his way to the North Pole.

Dmitri O. Rogozin, part of a delegation that included priests bearing holy water and a banner of Jesus Christ, was at the top of the world to open a scientific research station on a shrinking ice cap and to proclaim, rather showily, Russia’s interest in the region.

“The Arctic,” he boasted on Twitter, “is a Russian Mecca.”

Rogozin’s excursion came only days before the biennial summit meeting of the Arctic Council, an international organization created to foster co-operation in the region, that began Friday in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

The council’s mission is now being strained by the broader deterioration of relations with Russia over its intervention in Ukraine. Russia’s actions have resulted in sanctions and travel bans on dozens of officials, like Rogozin, and a prohibition on the sale of American technology and services to help Russia tap its potentially enormous energy resources in the Arctic.

President Vladimir Putin has responded by stepping up air patrols along Russia’s border with NATO nations, including those that are members of the Arctic Council, in a cycle of confrontations reminiscent of the Cold War.

The Arctic Council — made up of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the U.S., as well as observer nations and organizations — was created in 1996 as a diplomatic forum to address issues that arose from that economic and political competition.

The council was never intended to be a forum for debating military and security matters, and until recently, it appeared to be immune to broader political differences.

Canada has imposed sanctions on Russian officials over the Ukraine crisis and criticized Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014.

The U.S. assumed leadership of the council on Friday and made it clear that the attention of the member countries will shift from economic development to climate change.

“This is not a future challenge,” Secretary of State John Kerry told council members, who met in the Nunavut legislature in Iqaluit. “This is happening right now.”

Kerry thanked Canada for its two-year term as council chair.

“It’s been a very important part of the council’s 20-year history and it has given all of us a strong platform on which to build.”

He promised to continue key Canadian initiatives, such as the creation of the Arctic Economic Forum, self-selecting northern businesses that meet to discuss opportunities and best practices. The U.S. will also continue Canada’s work to reduce black carbon, light-absorbing particulate matter that is a significant contributor to sea-ice melt.

Federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq spoke of the pride she felt in being the first Inuk to lead the council. “It was a great honour for me, as an Inuk, to be the first Arctic indigenous person to serve as chair of the Arctic Council,” she told the meeting.

Aglukkaq said that she had brought up Canada’s displeasure with recent Russian activities with Russian Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi.

“I did have a brief discussion to express our concerns, to state again the we condemn the actions in Ukraine,” she said.

Kerry said that despite increased military activity in the Arctic, security issues aren’t likely to find their way any time soon onto the agenda of the council, which is forbidden by its mandate to hold such discussions.

In his address to the council, Donskoi denied his country is militarizing the North

“Russia sees the Arctic as a territory for dialogue and co-operation,” he said. “It’s the only way we can achieve prosperity.

“There is no room for confrontation or fear mongering, particularly from forces from the outside. Russia is against politicizing the Arctic.”

With files from The Canadian Press