Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s ministry pulled Russia out of the Barents Euro-Artic Council in September 2023 after Finland declined to turn over the rotating chair to Russia. AFP/GETTY IMAGES
THE WATCH STAFF
Russia has abruptly withdrawn from the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) after Finland declined to hand off the group’s rotating presidency to it.
“Under the current conditions, we are forced to announce the withdrawal of the Russian Federation,” the Russian foreign ministry stated as quoted in the Independent Barents Observer newspaper.
Earlier, Finnish diplomats declined to confirm to their Russian counterparts that the Nordic country would hand over the two-year chairmanship when Finland’s term ends this fall.
“The Finnish presidency did not confirm its readiness to transfer leadership of BEAC to Russia in October 2023, in violation of the principle of rotation,” the Russian ministry wrote, adding that this is “disrupting the necessary preparatory measures.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted Europe, has also caused Nordic countries to reassess their traditional neutrality between NATO and Russia. Finland has joined NATO and Sweden will soon do so. Norway and Denmark have reassessed their Arctic defenses and eagerly participate in NATO and Nordic-led military exercises.
Established in 1993, BEAC has facilitated cross-border contacts between the northernmost regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden with northwest Russia.
The Nordic countries suspended their cooperation with Russia shortly after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Finnish Parliament in October 2023 will host the 11th Parliamentary Barents Conference in Rovaniemi with international participation but not any Russians, the Observer newspaper reported.
Russia said the opposition to war in Ukraine among “our Northern European neighbors, does not correspond to the long-term interests of the inhabitants of the Arctic. Responsibility for the collapse of the Barents cooperation architecture lies entirely with our ‘partners,’” the ministry stated.