Arctic Council to resume meetings without Russia after protesting Ukraine war

The Arctic Council is deciding to sit again, after suspending its meetings in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But council members say Russia is not invited to the table and future meetings will only discuss projects it is not involved in.

As well as Russia, the council is made up of Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland and the United States and its agenda ranges from climate change to Indigenous issues.

Russia is its current lead, but in March all other members pulled out over its attack on Ukraine.

Today, they issued a statement saying there will be a limited resumption of the council’s work on issues that do not require Russia’s attendance.

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The Arctic Council, which was founded in Ottawa in 1996, has led to agreements on issues such as scientific co-operation in the North and preparation to clean up oil spills.