U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have scheduled a meeting for Wednesday (May 19, 2021) in Reykjavik, Iceland, on the sidelines of the Arctic Council Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
This is the first face-to-face meeting between the highest-ranking U.S. and Russian diplomatic officials since the Biden administration took office. The meeting will also set the stage for a planned meeting between President Biden and President Putin next month.
U.S.-Russian bilateral relations remain tense at the moment.
The State Department said Wednesday afternoon’s meeting “provides an opportunity to test our ability to build a more stable and predictable bilateral relationship with Moscow.
Blinken on Tuesday urged the international community to avoid militarization in the Arctic. The U.S. has previously criticized Russia for requiring prior approval for foreign ships to pass through the region, sending Russian pilot boat crews aboard foreign vessels and threatening to use force against those that do not comply.
Blinken said, “We see Russia advancing illegal maritime claims there, particularly by imposing regulation on foreign vessels passing through on the northern route, which is inconsistent with international law.”
A day earlier, Lavrov said, “It has been absolutely clear to everyone for a long time that this is our territorial sea, this is our territory. We have a responsibility to ensure that our Arctic Ocean coast is safe.”
The Arctic is becoming more passable as climate change accelerates the melting of the Arctic Ocean ice.
President Vladimir Putin has elevated the strategic status of Russia’s Arctic region in recent years. Russia’s enhanced military installations and increased mineral extraction in the Arctic have thus increased the concerns of other Arctic Council members about these Russian actions.
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