US, Russia mull cooperation on Arctic trade routes, exploration

US and Russian officials have identified the Arctic as a possible area for economic cooperation, according to people familiar with the situation, part of the broader detente President Donald Trump is pursuing with Moscow.

Discussions have included natural resources exploration and trade routes, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private and at an early stage. Cooperation over energy exploration is also seen as a goal by the US, one of the people said.

The topic emerged as Trump has aggressively pursued an end to the war in Ukraine, including direct talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Both sides have recently signalled that they’re open to business ventures and cooperation, alarming European and NATO allies, which have sought to isolate Moscow since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.


US and Russian officials plan to meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss restoring embassy staffing levels, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

One of the people said US officials see Arctic cooperation as a way to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing, but cautioned that was unlikely to succeed given how much closer Russia and China have grown in recent years, particularly with their “no-limits” partnership since the war in Ukraine began.

A spokesperson for the US National Security Council declined to comment. A spokesman for the Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Arctic, encircled by Russia and seven NATO members — the US, Canada and the Nordics Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden — has drawn increasing attention in recent years as melting ice from climate change opens up shipping lanes and the possibility to explore for potential energy and mineral resources.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund, said after US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia this month that cooperation on Arctic energy projects was among “specific areas of cooperation” they discussed, Politico reported.

Late last year, the Pentagon released a new Arctic Strategy that highlighted the risk of China and Russia teaming up in the region. Under the Biden-era policy, the US aimed to expand its military readiness and surveillance in the Arctic in response to “growing alignment” between Moscow and Beijing.

China has increasingly focused on the Arctic in recent years, declaring itself in 2018 a “near-Arctic state” and has developed fishing, energy and transportation interests in the region. The prospect of new shipping routes is seen as key to Beijing’s strategy, which envisions a Polar Silk Road connecting East Asia, Western Europe and North America.