Is the Arctic Sea the Key to Ending the Ukraine War?

The author said that Trump still has a chance “to break from the status quo and entice Russia to end the war” by making the situation in the Arctic - where a struggle for dominance between world powers has been intensifying in recent years – part of the negotiations, he wrote. As the analyst stated, the issue is “guaranteed to capture… Putin’s attention” because Moscow is interested in the effective functioning of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs from the Barents Sea near Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait between Chukotka and Alaska, and “holds the key to unlocking major development in the country’s vast, resource-rich interior and more broadly for Siberia.” Another important factor in the deal is that before the onset of war in Ukraine, the world’s largest energy companies, led by US oil giants Exxon, Chevron, and Conoco, were working on developing some of Russia’s largest Arctic energy reserves, but were forced to leave because of US war sanctions, leaving billions in investments on the table.

Author: Robert Berke

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