Why Russia is likely to remain cooperative in the Arctic

The Arctic will continue to militarize — but it will also remain a place where Russia cooperates with the West, says a leading Norwegian scholar.

Sometimes there is much solace in cool analysis. Listen to this: Russia is likely to continue as an active and willing partner in the Arctic for a long time to come. There is little or no reason to fear that disagreements between Russia and the other Arctic states (all of which are NATO-aligned), over Crimea, Ukraine, Syria or other current crises will lead to Russian withdrawal from cooperation in the Arctic, be it the Arctic Council, the Arctic Coast Guard Forum or other structures.