Russia and US exploring Arctic cooperation – Putin

The Russian president has highlighted growing global energy demand and Moscow’s technological advances in the region

Russia and the US are exploring opportunities for cooperation in the Arctic, President Vladimir Putin has said, stressing that Moscow is ready to work with partners genuinely interested in joint projects.

Speaking at the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin highlighted growing global demand for natural gas and Russia’s efforts to expand production, particularly in the Arctic.

Natural gas already accounts for a quarter of the global energy mix, and Russia, which holds the world’s largest reserves, is investing in infrastructure and technologies designed to operate in extreme northern conditions, the president noted.

“Russia is systematically strengthening its technological sovereignty,” Putin said. “We have also taken a major step forward by creating our own proprietary [liquefied natural gas] LNG technologies, which are already being deployed in the harsh conditions of the Arctic.”

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Moscow is “open for cooperation,” including in the technological field, Putin maintained, adding that it is “actively working with many nations” in the Arctic. “Now, we are exploring avenues for joint work with American partners,” he added.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that Moscow and Washington were discussing a potential venture to use Russian technology to extract natural gas in Alaska, liquefy it and export it.

The proposed company, dubbed Polar LNG, was reportedly discussed last month by Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. According to the newspaper, Russian gas producer Novatek has helped finance the venture through a UAE-based firm and is considering taking a minority stake.

Western energy companies have largely scaled back their Russian operations since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. US energy giant ExxonMobil withdrew from the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, although the Wall Street Journal reported last year that it was considering a return.

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ExxonMobil and Chevron nevertheless retain stakes in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which transports Kazakh oil through Russia to the Black Sea.

Several major European energy companies have also exited Russia, although France’s TotalEnergies retains stakes in Novatek and the Yamal LNG project.

The EU, meanwhile, has adopted an increasingly militaristic approach to the Arctic. Its latest Arctic strategy identifies the region as a potential flashpoint for confrontation with Russia, declares that the bloc itself “is part of the Arctic,” and outlines a range of military objectives.

In August, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the EU was seeking to turn the Arctic into a new “hotbed” of tensions. He accused NATO of “driving the region towards militarization” through its military buildup, while stressing Moscow’s commitment to “preserving the Arctic as an area of peace and cooperation.”