It has been recently reported that Russia and the United States have discussed possible cooperation on energy and economic projects in the Arctic at a meeting in Saudi Arabia.
The two nations have sent representatives to the Gulf nation to find a breakthrough in negotiations over a number of international issues and most importantly the Russia Ukraine war. The Arctic it seems has also been at the top of the priority list in Riyadh.
The talks are considered extremely crucial as Donald Trump is looking to resolve the Ukraine crisis and sort out a negotiation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Although the meetings have been largely played down by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies.
Meanwhile Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), elaborated that aside from the Ukraine Russia war the talks had also focused on the Arctic. He also informed that the two sides had discussed some “specific areas of cooperation” according to a report in POLITICO.
“It was more a general discussion — maybe joint projects in the Arctic. We specifically discussed the Arctic,” Dmitriev said by phone as he boarded a flight home after the talks in Riyadh.
The Arctic Race
The Arctic has emerged as a major geopolitical chessboard for the global powers, its vast hidden resources, waterway access and rich minerals are attracting all the top economic powerhouses.
Russia already has a strong hold in the Arctic regions while China and the US are also keen to make their moves. Trump has sought to annex Greenland in his bid to get a hold for the US.
Trump aims to expand American influence in the Arctic, pushing to acquire Greenland from Denmark he has even refused to rule out using military force or economic coercion to seize control of the massive island with its vast mineral wealth and key strategic location.
China has already made inroads and has acquired a number of projects with its eyes fixed on the vast Arctic wealth. The US already has military presence in the region however they are yet to fully make major economic inroads like China.
Denmark which controls the huge territory of Greenland has also called on Europe to invest a stake in the region. Emmanuel Macron has been aggressively pushing France to get involved in the mineral rich region, looking to even send in French troops as he fears that Europe will be left behind in the race heating up for the Arctic.
Now it seems after these recent talks the US and Russia maybe looking at joint operation prospects which can yield great dividends for both nations.
In the past U.S. oil major ExxonMobil had partnered with Russian state oil major Rosneft to explore for hydrocarbons in the high Arctic, but pulled out in 2018 following the imposition of Western sanctions in response to Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
The Talks in Saudi
Dmitriev was part of a Russian delegation that included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and was in Saudi Arabia for initial discissions on Ukraine.
He commented on the economic track of the talks, which he described as good, but declined to go into detail on the political discussions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the U.S. delegation, accompanied by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Positive after the Biden administration destroyed all of the communication, destroyed all of the discussion,” he said.
In further remarks, Dmitriev said he had presented an estimate by the RDIF that U.S. businesses had lost around $300 billion as a result of leaving Russia following Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“There is an understanding that bad relations between Russia and the U.S. actually cost a lot to American business, and there are ways to have productive cooperation benefit both Russia and the U.S.” he said.
“I would not want to have unrealistic expectations for the process going forward, but I think joint investments between Russia and the U.S. are now more likely after this meeting than before,” he added.
Although the US does have access to the Arctic through Alaska it is pushing to gain a foothold in more of the region, which is why Trump is so keen on Greenland. However if these two powerhouses can collaborate their efforts then the dividends for both can be sky high. The talks in Riyadh have so far been cordial with both sides looking for a resolution. If the Arctic question also sees some considerable breakthrough one may see the region buzzing with tremendous economic activity in the coming years.
