On November 21, 2025, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a roundtable, “The Arctic as a Magnet for Non-Regional Actors.”
On November 21, 2025, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a roundtable, “The Arctic as a Magnet for Non-Regional Actors.”
Experts discussed the key interests of non-Arctic states in the region, paying particular attention to the current state of cooperation within the Arctic Council, the work of its various working groups, and potential...
... pursue its national interests without disruption and potentially gain support for its objectives.
However, the melting ice in the Arctic region opens a new path for global sea routes and logistics. Some research
reveals
that the Northern Sea Route (NSR) can reduce the travel distance between Europe and Asia by approximately 10 to 14 days compared to routes passing through the Suez Canal.
Undoubtedly, the opening of the potential Northern Sea Route slightly disrupts Indonesia's GMF policy, especially ...
... long-awaited international North-South transport corridor (INSTC) may connect Russia and India and other major Eurasian powers as Iran and Kazakhstan, while simultaneously engaging Azerbaijan to play a more active role in region-building. Northern Sea route (NSR) and the Arctic, where Russia needs to balance unfriendly Western nations, members of the Arctic Council, as well as an increasingly more active China, is a brand-new venue for the parties’ connectivity cooperation [
8
].
Yet, both projects would ...
... to exercise caution and sometimes practice over-compliance with Western technology transfers restrictions fearing possible secondary US and EU sanctions.
Another evident economic opportunity for Russia in the Arctic region is the Northern Sea Route (NSR)—a 5,600 km long transportation corridor that remains the shortest shipping route between Europe and the Asia-Pacific. With the Arctic ice melting and navigation seasons in the North getting longer due to global warming, NSR becomes commercially ...
Interview with Dr Jawahar Vishnu Bhagwat
The development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is currently one of Russia’s key strategic projects for the Arctic region. Given its scale and significance, developing the NSR also requires expanding international cooperation and participation in the project. Russia has been actively attracting ...
... 80% of natural gas and about one third of fish are produced in the Arctic belt. The continental shelf is rightly considered a strategic stockpile of explored mineral resources to secure hundreds of years of prudent consumption. The Northern Sea Route (NSR), for all the complexities and controversial points in its operation, is a real working sea lane for commodity transportation. In 2021, this artery was used to deliver a record
33.5 million tons
of cargo, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas ...
... to Canada and the United States, the Russian Arctic is characterised by a greater length of navigation, a smaller area and thickness of the ice cover, as well as a big number of bases and ports along the coast and on islands. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is in regular and increasing use for commercial cargo transport, owing to both development of the resources of the Russian North and transit shipping. Of course, the NSR is still a long way behind the routes of the southern seas in performance, but ...
Participation of foreign shipping companies in the development of the NSR
Recently, the potential of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as the shortest Eurasian route has become of a great interest for maritime companies in many countries. As a result, Russia has a great chance to implement one of the four priorities of its ...
