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

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Itar-Tass) - The United States, Russia and six
other countries of the Arctic Council (AC) will sign on May 12 an
agreement on the conduct of search and rescue operations in the Arctic,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries in the Bureau of
Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, US
Department of State, Ambassador David A. Balton announced on Monday.
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 Tromso 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.