ST. PETERSBURG. Jan 23 (Interfax) - The Arctic, which is a global advantage of Russia, is becoming a geopolitical "ground of the future," and the country needs to be very strong to protect its interests in this area, Kurchatov Institute National Research Center President, head of the Russian Maritime Board's Scientific Expert Council Mikhail Kovalchuk said.
"The talk [of U.S. President Donald Trump] about Greenland and Canada, what is it all about? They are an Arctic state. If they take control of Canada and Greenland, they will be equal to us [in the Arctic]. This means they expel us from the Arctic Council, I do not want to go into details," Kovalchuk said at a meeting on the participation of Russian higher educational establishments in the provision of technological sovereignty in shipbuilding, which took place in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
"If we listen to what Trump is saying, you and I have to understand that the day the Soviet Union collapsed was the last day of the Yalta-Potsdam world model, because it relied on the Soviet Union as a pillar," he said.
A new model is about to emerge, and it is already being formed, Kovalchuk said.
"Yet, we have to understand that the Arctic is a significant part of this model. The Arctic is our global advantage, which our president has been loud and clear about and has taken numerous steps towards," he said.
Russia has the world's largest fleet of icebreakers. It is also the only state possessing nuclear-powered icebreakers, Kovalchuk said.
"We are not the only ones who understand this. The Arctic is a ground of the future," he said.
The United States "will head to the Arctic," Kovalchuk said.
"A fight is being fought at every level, 200-mile zone and so on. This means we must be very strong. We can take positions in the Arctic today, which will make it very difficult to catch up with us," he said.
Russian presidential aide, Maritime Board Chairman Nikolai Patrushev chaired a meeting on the participation of Russian higher educational establishments in the provision of technological sovereignty in shipbuilding in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
Kovalchuk said the Russian Maritime Board led by Patrushev is the one able "to consolidate all forces and opinions" and elaborate a brand new concept for the protection and promotion of Russian national interests in the Arctic.