COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday called for Arctic states to include military issues in talks between them about the future of the region.
“It is important to extend the positive relations that we have within the Arctic Council to encompass the military sphere as well,” Lavrov said in a speech at an Arctic Council meeting in Reykjavik.
The Arctic Council was created in 1996 to establish peaceful dialogue between Arctic states and indigenous people on issues such as environmental protection and sustainable development, but military and security issues were excluded.
Tension has been building in the Arctic region in recent years, with governments becoming wary of each other’s military activity there.
Lavrov on Monday proposed that council members have heads of their respected armed forces meet regularly to defuse any tensions that arise.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Editing by William Maclean)
