Lavrov says Russia to create conditions for indigenous peoples’ participation in Arctic Council’s activities

FAIRBANKS /United States/, May 11. /TASS/. Russia will take steps in order to create conditions for the indigenous peoples’ participation in the Arctic Council’s activities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the Council’s ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska. "I promise to take measures to create better conditions for representatives of the Russian indigenous peoples who take part in the Arctic Council’s activities," Lavrov said. The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum set up in 1996, consists of Russia, Canada, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. Besides, the Council also comprises the organizations of the Arctic indigenous peoples, including the Arctic Athabascan Council, Aleut International Association, Gwich'in Council International, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Saami Council. Representatives of the Russian Aleut and Mansi people addressed the Fairbanks meeting of the Arctic Council. Read more