The Northern state: Russia is ready to resume contributions to the Arctic Council

Russia does not renounce its financial obligations in the Arctic Council, but in order for our country to start paying contributions again, it is necessary to restore the full-fledged work of the structure, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. In particular, Moscow insists on resuming meetings of the committee of senior officials. However, Western Arctic countries are sabotaging the work of the Arctic Council. As a result, these same states are forced to freeze projects and look for ways to compensate, experts noted.

When will the Arctic Council resume its work?

Russia will resume paying contributions to the budget of the Arctic Council (AU) if the organization's full-fledged work is restored, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry and senior Russian official at the Arctic Council, told Izvestia.

— The issue of paying Russian contributions to the AU budget remains open. We are not reneging on our financial obligations, but unfortunately, we do not see any way to resolve the current situation. First of all, it is necessary to restore the full functioning of the Council, first of all, to ensure the resumption of meetings of the committee of senior officials," the diplomat said.

Moscow stopped transferring contributions to the organization's budget in February 2024. At that time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the decision would remain in effect until "the resumption of practical work in this format with the participation of all member countries, including the implementation of joint projects." Against the background of the conflict in Ukraine, the council's activities have been largely paralyzed since March 2022 due to the actions of the Western Arctic countries: Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, the USA, Finland and Sweden.

At the same time, Russian officials did not rule out that the Russian Federation would withdraw from the Arctic Council altogether if its activities ceased to meet its interests. There has already been such an example: in September 2023, Moscow announced its withdrawal from the Barents Council, founded in 1993./The Euro-Arctic region. The reason was the actual blocking of the organization's work.

Beyond the Arctic circle: Russia has allowed cooperation with Western countries along the Northern Sea Route

The crisis in the Middle East is forcing businesses to look for alternative routes

However, at the moment there is no question of Russia's withdrawal from the Arctic Council. Denmark currently chairs the organization, whose authorities are making efforts to restore the organization's full-fledged activities and are in close dialogue with all member countries, including Russia, Vladislav Maslennikov told Izvestia earlier.

The Committee of Senior Officials is the main coordinating body of the Arctic Council, it provides political and strategic guidance for its work between ministerial sessions, explained Nikita Lipunov, a junior researcher at MGIMO.

"The resumption of the committee's work will mean the restoration of political dialogue and mark the restart of the full—fledged work of the Arctic Council," the expert believes. — But it is unlikely in the near future.

According to him, the Arctic Council is currently engaged in mostly administrative work, and projects that began before 2022 are continuing. The full restoration of the organization's work requires political will, which has not yet been observed in the West. At the same time, the AU is a unique format that unites not only Arctic but also non—Arctic states, as well as representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North and NGOs. Many people are interested in its preservation, and, first of all, the Arctic states themselves.

The limited functioning of the AU hinders productive dialogue and progress in solving the problems common to all Arctic countries in the region, Vladislav Maslennikov added. According to him, in the absence of meetings at the ministerial level and meetings of the Committee of senior officials, it is problematic to discuss fundamentally new initiatives, possible structural and administrative changes that might be required to improve the efficiency of the AU.

— The process of accepting new applications for observer status in the organization has actually been stopped. Not to mention the fact that the coordination of decisions in remote and written format trivially slows down all processes, depriving the Council of the opportunity to respond truly promptly and flexibly to events and changes in the Arctic," the diplomat said.

The Council's project support tool is not functioning, which negatively affects the possibilities of implementing initiatives whose participants need to attract funding from other sources, Maslennikov said.

How did the termination of Russia's contributions affect the work of the AU

The Arctic Council does not have a structural budget, but there are items that involve annual contributions from the organization's member countries. Most of the funds are spent on financing the work of the secretariat, and countries annually finance specific projects on a voluntary basis.

In February 2022, the organization had more than 130 such projects in various fields, from protecting biodiversity and waste management to emergency prevention. Now there are about 100 of them.

Russia annually contributed about $100 thousand to the AU budget. For example, in 2021, this amount amounted to $117 thousand. Russia's share accounted for about 10% of the total expenses of the organization. However, Moscow's real contribution is much more significant. In 2015, Russia became the largest donor to the Fund for Environmental Projects of the Arctic Council, transferring €10 million to it. We should not forget about the work of Russian scientists, providing data, equipment and logistics (icebreakers, stations), which is not always reflected in monetary terms.

Polar friend: American business is ready to cooperate with Russia in the Arctic

What hinders the joint projects of Moscow and Washington in the North

The suspension of contributions has created a significant deficit, directly affecting the operational activities of the Arctic Council. Although a complete reduction in the staff of the secretariat is unlikely, it is possible to freeze new initiatives and optimize current expenses, Sergei Tolkachev, a professor at the Financial University, told Izvestia.

— The main burden of financing falls on other member states, primarily the Scandinavian countries and Canada, which compensate for the shortfall through their contributions in order to preserve the institutional integrity of the Arctic Council. However, this is a temporary measure, and the long—term lack of Russian funding may lead to a reduction in the scale of activities, the expert believes.

How the West operates in the Arctic

In recent years, the Arctic has become an arena of global confrontation. The United States does not abandon its claims to Greenland, and Washington and Copenhagen are currently discussing the parameters of a future agreement to increase the American presence. The number of NATO military installations and exercises in Norway is increasing. Extra-regional states are also expanding their activity: In the summer of 2025, Germany sent its military squadron to the Arctic, and France unveiled a defense strategy in the Far North region.

— The desire of Western states to "contain" our country, including in the Arctic, the reckless militarization of the Arctic region by NATO countries, and the build-up of illegitimate sanctions pressure on our country do not contribute to strengthening geopolitical stability in the region and increasing mutual trust. Nevertheless, we have always stressed that Russia was not the initiator of the suspension of the full—scale work of the AU," Maslennikov stressed.

And now, on the issue of resuming political dialogue in the organization, "the ball is definitely in the court of our Western colleagues," the diplomat said.

Under the current conditions, Russia is restoring and modernizing a network of military bases along the Arctic coast to protect its resources and control the Northern Sea Route, and the Northern Fleet is also being strengthened. In addition, a list of Arctic support settlements has been compiled, for which master plans for the development of the social sphere are being developed. At the same time, Moscow is ready to discuss cooperation with Western Arctic countries in the operation of the Northern Sea Route, although China and India have now become Moscow's main partners in the development of Arctic logistics.

Sergei Tolkachev believes that a full-fledged resumption of work directly depends on the geopolitical situation. This requires at least a working dialogue between Russia and other members, which is difficult in the current circumstances. The most realistic scenario is further work in a truncated mode with an emphasis on non—political projects.

Nevertheless, even under the current conditions, Russia is making efforts to promote the international project activities of the structure, to resume "living" ties through the participating organizations of indigenous peoples, and emphasizes in the Council's strategic documents the importance of maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in the region, Maslennikov said.

Moscow sees a common interest in maintaining this format, which gives some reason for optimism, he said. Representatives of the Western expert community periodically call for this. They point out the inadmissibility of ignoring Russia's interests in the North and the need for normalization of regional cooperation, including for scientific projects.