Western countries actively use illegitimate sanctions to impede the development of the Russian Arctic. This is what Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Senior Arctic Official of the Russian Federation to the Arctic  Council, said on February 3.

“Illegitimate sanctions are actively used to impede the development of the Russian Arctic and international interaction in the North in general,” he said in an interview.

According to the Russian diplomat, Western countries, “introducing confrontational and neo-colonial approaches to the region are opposing not only us, but all other countries that are aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the Subarctic and constructive interaction on the basis of international law and mutual respect for each other’s interests.”