most people think just stand out in this business you need to be the first one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice of the biggest raid in truth to stand out among those business you just need to ask the right questions and demand the right answer. questions.

oh i can do so if you go on so if you shevardnadze as to race for the arctic is gaining ground more countries are seeking to expand their presence there is a waltz coldest place turning into a major hostile well i ask all out war. former president of iceland. the harsh cold of the seas or around the north pole has long frozen any conflicts between the arctic powers but now the retreating ice opens up possibilities trade routes and natural resources ripe for extraction with countries not even bordering the arctic staking a claim for its riches those diplomacy stand a chance against the promise of a new northern gold rush with the melting ice also melt down the decades of consensus and peace in the arctic circle president thank you so much for being on

our program today a pleasure to have you as our guest thank you hear some of you our state my thumb pal has actually said that washington needs to be engaged in the arctic because otherwise russia and china's growing domination in the region is quote a threat to freedom loving nations like iceland and the united states do you feel like your country is somehow being threatened no we don't quite frankly. most. corporations. for ticket. don't forget the united states of the military base in iceland for more than half a century and then during the george w. bush administration they closed the tone so part of toxically while the washington was telling the rest of the world that it was now such a dangerous place that there was a need to go towards in the far away places they were telling us that the north an

arctic neighborhood was no so peaceful and secure that america could remove their military oppression completely of the left so as we don't have any armed forces of our own for now almost a decade there has not been a single soldier in iceland and it cost of course to any problem. but of course it is important to have the your gates the office the big arctic stage russia the united states in the arctic corp and the good news is despite conflicts in all the parts of the world russia and america have together with the rest of us managed to conclude treaty and i agree on the arctic by. sun if you call it is not the pulse of the world during my general ship of the arctic circle which i stopped. i am also very much aware of the growing interest of

china japan korea frogs. in the arctic show to go the the your ocean brushed the rushed of the arctic states including i have also to come to go though or not coherent policy with respect to what i call the new war rival the alte from asia and also from the european continent and the topic of this one surely chanson tensions between them always come up in contacts of the arctics and how that would affect the situation there trust most recent national security strategy prioritizes this so-called great power grab really in pentagon is actually currently working on the arctic defense strategy what do you think this could lead to i mean no one wants war and that's where sure but is this is to nation where no one wants a war. but everyone just pumps funds into

a cold when we are in fact talking about a part of the planet which is almost a shy show off. almost forgot when people want to bring the military mobile from the cold war to this part of the planet i say let the stuff distinguishing different parts of the arctic and i sometimes d. by the arctic into three parts the west enough to which is primarily are lost on the north and provinces of canada then you have the eastern optic which is predominantly russia seven times old little part of finland them sweden then you have the center of which it basically if you wish more countries like greenland iceland the norway of our island but the big ocean territory as well these three parts are very different and when you want to talk about defense and security a military issue is you have to distinguish between these parts i sometimes jokingly

say to my american friends. you have been preoccupied by what's happening on new york yacht the border with mexico but you pay very little attention to what's happening in your pocket. because there are the ice is melting and during the summer months anybody on a boat can enter the united states in the coast of alaska so it is in fact inevitable that the u.s. would start paying more attention to the infrastructure their capabilities in the arctic in alaska in this same way it is inevitable and understand to both russia. giving the huge comic importance of the russian arctic to the russian economy will build capabilities infrastructure security mechanism in the arctic so yes

actually norway is foreign defense minister also said that there is nothing surprising and wrong with a military presence in the arctic and it doesn't mean that there's a threat it's normal because the arctic is such an important region like you have just pointed out do you think this situation in the arctic could be similar to what's going on in the south china sea where china and you know the states are demonstrating cap abilities but not a lot of absolutely not absolutely not. don't forget norway and russia shoal the major territorial dispute in the arctic with a treaty which both countries agree to and if you look at border disputes in the arctic. most of them are between canada and the united states and canada and the conduct of the book so if you wash canada and denmark manage to hold the border disputes of the arctic you would really almost have

a free order to be able to. and of course taking mobile flight from the shoshana's north of the park but we have the law of the she thought every arctic state's follows even the us a well they have more formally signed it. and this determines in quite definite ways the rights and the op locations of all these countries and watch even more remarkable even if the world has not notice it thirty months of the last year russia united states all the arctic states also china japan korea the e.u. managed to conclude the treaty on the arctic ocean how not only are we in the arctic including us and russia but also these asian powers on the e.u. are going to come on the ocean resources of the emerging arctic ocean and that

the issue i think a shy of how the possibilities in the arctic are not being prevented from being realized because of some some tension but you are right the need for what i call and hunched capabilities in the arctic could lead to serious of misunderstandings about whether it's a military show whether it is threatening and that's why i have advocated to recently. that we need to cut down agreement on infrastructure capability in the arctic what is normal what is understandable and what will then start to constitute a threat if it goes beyond a stage because if we don't have show some agreed stand up or capabilities those who want to winter do share mongering an old cold war model into the arctic of a much arctic council is something that focuses on scientific research and rescue

and search operations but it doesn't necessarily focus on security given the situation in africa now do you think maybe we need an organization where all these countries just can't do that and are well i believe very strongly that they in the twenty first century we have a bailable torsion new model of international corporation where you don't have to have the shame institutional structure of the thread to the lunches surgery and i will explain that you mentioned the arctic council the arctic council initial intergovernmental body of the arctic states with a number of years but i had to gather all the arctic partners created into the ocean those are the arctic shore coal which is an open international platform where any state can come china japan korea showing up or france germany italy which a lot of the mothers or business companies or and my own mental organization or the

shame level and interest your production on the bishop but also be excitement. in the public square and anybody can ask them questions and this has turned out to be a better models so now every year in iceland in october we have over two thousand petition puns it's a lot just on your international gathering on the altar from more than sixty countries where all these countries i mentioned have accepted to shun the delegation representing their policies on the protests and then to answer questions from anybody in the old you whether to show young children an activist or a political leader and in addition to please we organize full remission all the parts of the world more unscathed but though very prominent last december we had one in korea we will have one in china next month on china in the arctic we will follow up to the forum and from previously on in washington on the russia and u.s.

relations in the arctic and counted up on all this. and all of this together with other arctic other things have in fact made the arctic dialogue of the artistic corporation very. very intense bond so in addition to the formalized arctic council we have all these publish where those countries some of the participants are players come together in an open transparent accountable dialogue and i believe very strongly that this is one of the recent. why the arctic has been show circuit for territory of corporations because the dialogue has been opened it's not just where diplomats say something more or you have to be a minister in order to come whether you are conscientious decision or journalist or scientist on environmental issues or lead there over russia reach or like you are

malema shaw more monks kwok and girls got all those everybody can come of the same level so what i find interesting about the arctic progress in the last ten to fifteen years is that we in addition to all the arctic cooperation we have demonstrated a new global model of dealing with challenges on top. of so far we have todo to be pretty sure just present one so we have taken share a break right now when we're back we'll continue talking to all of your own ragnarok koreans and former president of iceland about what's going on in the arctic today stay with us.

u.s. veterans who come back from war often tell the same stories. were going up for the people who were killing civilians they were not interested in the wellbeing of their own soldiers either they're already several generations of them so i just got this memo from a certain branch offices we're going to attack and destroy the government in seven countries in five years americans pay for the wars with their money others with. if we were willing to go into harm's way and willing to risk being killed for a war surely we can risk some discomfort. for.

our back with all our war rocking our bramsen former president of last month and then there's always a big topic of the air temperature change as they arctic which is why the. but the gas is going to rise five to ten percent by two thousand and eighty and that would mean that vast spaces with mineral resources would be accessible. and that's changing the whole pictures and using this whole ramping up of the presence in the arctic is really about being in the right place at the right time. while they are the arctic circle for ribbon china. we will have plenty watch called rethink shifting. arctic richo because the fact of the mater reach the poor. in china news from all the ratio. of indio

indonesia or japan korea. it's probably among the great to stretch to the future of the office but without a comprehensive clean energy transformation in a shoe in africa as well as the americas of europe we will continue to see the arctic ice melt. of the greenland ice sheet. total sham extend the future off the authors will be defined in a shia and in a for a cuppa and if these parts of the world continue to pollute the planet of course they will continue to smoke the resources will become more and more available and that's just one of the reason why i have always encouraged the in a moment of the asian countries some of those in the few deep eight on the future of the earth to. because whether we like a film or the arctic is no more pro ball and perhaps any all the part of the planet

because if you want to of the arctic will determine the she level of the extreme weather patterns all over the world and the fossil fuel or that it uses to in all the parts of the world will determine the future of the arctic more them the decisions of the russian government of the american government all the ice on the quote so we can talk about the asian involvement in china in the limit but before that i want to ask you a question about europe there is so much talk about securing you energy right now do you maybe think that arctics reach reserves could be the key actually and maybe . that would be the long awaited diversification for the european union so i think on the one hand you she continue your wish dependency on the arctic and it usually is but on the other the low cost for a new clean energy of the technological time formation of the smart grid. is also

creating a long arm of the rage where countries and continents become energy independent through the usual resources so i think loesch will want economically to to do find their future on the basis that they will have a revenue from paul show fewer resources in the arctic for the next fifty years most of say hundred years to take a shot. at the picture i want to talk about russia a little bit and i mean we've talked about it has seemingly moved further just right now in developing its acting cap abilities and there are investments involved as well but when it comes to gas and oil deposits europe can be an american can be involved because of the sanctions but china can do you think europe and united states are missing and window opportunity here was difficult to say one of the.

option ratios that i have been able to. witness. is the trunk formation over russia in the arctic when i first came to russia pressure them in two thousand and two the federal government of russia was not particularly interested in the author it was primarily a conscious of of the governor bush and even then president clinton because of the full should his first period those preston referred me to talking to the government to talk about the future of the author i have also attended all the arctic territory of local conferences the first one in moscow or relatively smaller conferences in one. medium sized lecture hall. university paged operation in moscow and if you compare the. with the spectacle we now have here in some petersburg in terms of the international participation of this great

action be sure of the discussion of the important for the future of the russian economy. change. must be underestimated how russia has come into arctic awareness on arctic economy on an arctic political due to ship in the last fifteen years as a revolution or a transformation of the role of russia to be fair i think when you came in two thousand and two russian was still sort of coming out of the really tough ninety's period where it didn't have no no i mean you're late always russia going on leaving russia i'm simply making the point and i could give you all the example the arrival of china upon korea in the arctic is a mother example i am simply saying in the last ten or fifteen years we have sheet monumental changes in the arctic so most people have this picture of the arctic it's staple changing rather remold part of the world

it is probably the part of the planet where we have seen in geo political terms in economic terms in scientific terms the most. transformative picture that will affect the future much more than what has happened on the european continent on the other post of the world and that is why i say to many people nobody nobody come out predict how the arctic will you wall the next ten or fifteen or twenty years that to me. a passionate thing are suspect of the arctic put issue patient because coming bottom my previous point the arctic being the size of off recover this is the first time in human history. also the challenge on the opportunity to do you find the structural corporation for social a large part of the planet and there of course the united states and russia have to

pay a great or oh ok but there's also china's involvement that we brought a couple of times with you i know yes i have been and then people are saying we are wary of the chinese takeover of the ark you know chinese china is not a the arctic state and it's very actively going into so what are your thoughts i have also been privileged to work in the last the china on this china. some very minute you have made the reasons for being interested conscient uninvolved in the arctic first of all the polar institute of child has done extensive research to make the chinese leadership realize that they are a christian melting of the arctic. courses extreme weather patterns in china with monumental destruction of the in the last ten years. only a few months only a few months later shackled to like the polarity shochu pointed out the content melting of the greenland ice sheet more spoiled the shish and salt in china will be

uninhabitable during this century show. the climate changes in the arctic constitute a threat to infrastructure and to a whole sheet fish in china secondly. becoming the largest economy on the planet it is inevitable but they will take a look of the resource rich area likely off like every big economy has taken a look at resources and all the possible certainly with the north and she wrote opening up and shortening the dishes but you can china europe and america this is all show that your timid reason for china to participate in arctic corp and so far this rodeo frankly i have not seen any shine and i'm probably worked more this china on the arctic than most of the people i have not seen any shot of

any of carrier aggression motives from the chinese leadership with respect to the often so i just wonder what it could do to. the balance of powers in the region. as their eyes melt the navigations becoming easier said currently mic maritime traffic counts to eighty percent of the global trade in terms of volume could a chinese policy could get this region like a whole new strategic meaning well look we in europe and i think what's it all show we have some upbeat traits by our culture and those think the three other shuttles you have. the future of the global economy there. will be determined to an issue whether we like it at all and that is often the reason why i point out to people when they bring up china like you. i pick up

korea he shows korea south korea very. extensive arctic pollution they are building the. containers bring the us from shop at the. new europe korea now a formal polish you wishes call korea polar issue in two thousand and fifteen they have a thirty year supply with respect to the osce to show it's not just china japan we are cooperating with japan in the arctic circle the forum initialed to your pound troubled all the way to a top or to make a keen old polish breach of the opening of the arctic circle simply for all the mates your power china and korea are now do really in wall in the shows in the arctic evidence of the emphasis in the global economy moving towards

we should not look at that ocean of threat we should look at the spec off the global economic transformation and then i'm gauge with these countries about the responsible constructive behavior in the arctic absolutely but and once again i'm just talking about the balance of powers here one more time because it seems like china's aspirations in terms of the cargo transit through the arctic is really just aimed mainly at europe the prospect of arctic trade and and the pushing the e.u. tour it's been seen from washington economically is it possible well of course it is possible but the bottom of the fact is. russia called bush shipment time shown should the ought to. it's a better reshot rich part of the. by nature than would be an economic corporation auction between the a shoe polish on russia with respect to the often show far.

the corporate power of america and the political party of america not woken up to the future potential of the arctic when i tell my french in motion talk about what's china japan and korea doing i even. do this exercise often in my meetings in america i ask people how many of you who post office up at the. and very few people put their hunch up so i think the question is shipley this does america want to be a part of this global transformation and nobody country shyte the except the united states all of us including russia and say preach be a part of it police come on join us on the problem some germany and the asian polish in creating a constructive prosperous responsible future in the arctic but if they for their

corporate the recession should move on wall street or for political reasons and moved on. to all the things there's no power that we have that's come true change that and then your options to write the end result could be that in twenty years time the rest of the world has moved to an extensive optic corporation and the us sean paul is left behind and that is why i find it a kind of a wake up call that at this conference here you will have. all the nordic countries represented either by president the prime ministers or foreign ministers cooperating with russia and talking with russia on the future of the arctic he spied conflicts over all the policy of the world all these leaders all the nordic countries involved it necessary to come to some peoples book to engage with russia on the field georgia often. thank you very much for this interview and

enjoy the rest mistake on your. manufacturing consent to public wealth. when the ruling class is a project.

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