Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador Nikolai Korchunov said that Russia may withdraw from the Arctic Council if its membership rights in the organization are violated. He said this in an interview TASS.
According to Koruchenov, the issue of inviting Russia to events to be held during the Norwegian presidency of the Arctic Council has not yet been discussed. He emphasized that if the Russian Federation is not invited to these meetings, the Russian Federation may withdraw from the organization.
“The failure to invite Russian representatives to the activities of the Arctic Council will be a violation of their rights as a member state, and in this case it will be unlikely that our country will continue to participate in the activities of this organization.” said the Free Ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
On 11 May, the council reported that the 13th meeting of the organization was held in Salekhard, which ended the two-year Russian presidency and marked the beginning of the Norwegian presidency for the next two years (2023-2025).
The Arctic Council is an international organization designed to promote cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development of the arctic regions. The council includes eight Arctic states (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA).
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