Arctic Council countries to sign agt on Arctic rescue ops May 12

He held a briefing on the eve of the AC regular session at the foreign ministers' level to be held in Nuuk (Greenland) next Thursday. In addition to Russia and the United States, the Council members are Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The Council holds ministerial meetings every two years, and the US secretary of state will participate in it for the first time, according to Balton.

Balton noted that he does not believe it possible to go into the details of the agreement developed under the guidance of US and Russian experts, because the document has yet to be adopted by the AC members. He could only say that the Arctic region was divided into eight zones for the conduct of search and rescue operations, in accordance with the number of the Council member states, the ambassador said. The boundaries of these zones on the map do not necessarily coincide with the interstate borders. At present none of the AC members has sufficient resources to carry out search and rescue operations in the region unaided. If someone asks for help, all the others, according to the agreement, will be obligated to assist. There are also plans for joint exercises.

This will be the first legally binding document, adopted by the AC, and an important step in saving lives in the region, the US State Department official said.

Balton also noted that the meeting participants will also consider a number of other issues associated with the development of the Arctic and the protection of its environment, including the following reports on climate change in the region and their potential consequences for the AC countries and the world. For the first a decision will be made on the establishment of the AC permanent secretariat, sort of an administrative office, the ambassador said. It is unknown so far where it will be located. Norway has proposed Troms· and Iceland - Reykjavik. This should be decided by the meeting participants. They will discuss both urgent and potential problems of oil pollution in the region - as a result of oil exploration and production, as well as its transportation by tankers.

According to Balton, the meeting is to approve the criteria for the AC observer status. The meeting participants will discuss the possibility of increasing the number of observers: the countries that want to participate in such capacity in the Council activities, he said. One of the key criteria will be their ability to make a meaningful contribution to the AC work. The ambassador named among the candidates China, Japan, South Korea and Italy. Six countries - France, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands - already have such status.

According to the AC press release, the 7th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting is fast approaching. The meeting takes place in Katuaq, the Nuuk Cultural Centre, on 12 May 2011. On the Ministerial agenda are items such as "Challenges and opportunities for the Arctic Council in a changing Arctic" and signing of two important documents; the Nuuk Declaration and the Search and Rescue (SAR) agreement. The Nuuk Declaration is the Ministers' common statement on the work of the Arctic Council, which outlines the direction for the incoming Swedish chairmanship. The SAR agreement, which will be the first ever legally binding agreement among the Arctic states negotiated under the auspices of the Arctic Council, will strengthen the cooperation on search and rescue between the Arctic States; Kazinform cites Itar-Tass.

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