The senior diplomat told on Sunday the TASS news agency “the problem of inviting the Russian side to events to be organized during the Norwegian presidency is yet to be discussed, which represents a violation of its rights as a member state.”

Russia passed the presidency of the organization to Norway. “Now the future of the Arctic Council depends entirely on the Norwegian presidency and on support for collective approaches, on which the Council’s work has always been based, by the rest of its member countries,” Korshunov said.

Moscow will align its position in the Arctic Council based on the evolution of events and based on the need to respect Russia’s interests, the diplomat said.

“Amid the weakening role and reduced effectiveness of the Arctic Council, brought about by our Western partners, we are already engaging in an active dialogue on the Arctic agenda in various formats with other countries and organizations,” he added.

“Since Russia is the largest Arctic country, and the mandate of the Arctic Council includes a limited range of areas of interaction, we will proceed from the multi-vector nature of our foreign policy and develop Arctic cooperation with constructive partners,” Korshunov stressed.

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