The Obama administration needs to confront Russia’s aggressive posturing when it takes over the leadership next week of a key international group on the Arctic, the chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee says.
“We need to call Russia out, when Russia needs to be called out,” Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Friday, addressing an oil and gas forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The U.S. will assume the chairmanship of the Arctic Council next week. The council includes eight Arctic nations: Russia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the United States. The council seeks to collaborate on the environment, oil and gas development, scientific advancement, trade and a host of other areas.
But Murkowski fears that Russia may be taking advantage of the administration’s invitations to collaborate as a sign of weakness, interpreting them as a free pass for more aggressive action in the Arctic.
Russia has become increasingly brazen and aggressive in the Arctic, with an increasing number of unannounced military aircraft patrols off Alaska’s shores that are “unwelcome and very aggressive.” News accounts say the U.S. had to scramble fighter jets 10 times last year as Russian bombers crossed the Bering Strait.
The Arctic should be a “zone of peace,” but “I also recognize that within a zone of peace there is respect that we show for one another. And what we are seeing right now is … aggressive behavior out of Russia right now,” the senator said.
“It causes me to wonder if they are not taking advantage of the fact that we have said we want to be your friend, we want to be your partner in all this. Well, if you want to be a partner then you behave like one,” she said.
“I think we need to ensure that our signals are equally as strong, and say that is not acceptable. It’s not acceptable,” the senator said. “And as much as we want to come together, we want to collaborate on scientific opportunities, collaborate on areas of the environment, let’s not say one thing … and then our actions take us in a different direction. We need to call Russia out when Russia needs to be called out.”
The Russian foreign minister is expected to not attend the meeting next week where the U.S. is to assume the council’s chairmanship. Lower level officials will attend instead, according to news reports.
