"Russia's leaders called an Arctic neighborhood meeting last week to make one thing clear: they see opportunities posed by global demand for Arctic resources, receding sea ice, and the North's strategic location.
"They're ready to pounce. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, chair of the Russian Geographical Society, summoned a bevy of Arctic hands to Arkhangelsk to tell us this:
-Russia intends to make the Northern Sea Route, which passes Alaska's front door, as important to global shipping and commerce as the Suez Canal. Major tanker loads of oil products, gas condensate and mineral ores have come our way already.
-Russia, heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, intends to sell in Asia as well as Europe. Shipments through the Bering Sea facilitate that. Their new partnership with Exxon-Mobil to develop Russia's Arctic shelf resources may bring them hundreds of billions of investment dollars.
-Russia wants a greater share of polar air routes. To get cargo flights to stop, they're upgrading airports, weather forecasting, and telecommunications"..............READ MORE
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