Ukraine will not be able to engage in the development of the Arctic because it has lost its technical capabilities for this, said Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, Artur Chilingarov, told RIA Novosti.
Ukraine is thinking of becoming an “Arctic player,” High North News reported earlier, citing Ukrainian Ambassador to Norway Vyacheslav Yatsyuk.
“Who knows what they want. They had good aviation in the Arctic before. Ukraine produced An-74, An-2, An-30 aircraft and they flew well. It had its own aviation industry, which was used in the Arctic. It is now probable that Ukraine may return to the Arctic no, “said Chilingarov.
“The full-fledged participants of work in the Arctic are the Arctic Council, countries that border the Arctic. The rest of the countries can be observers of the decisions that the Council makes. Ukraine has never been there. Ukrainian specialists have previously worked in Svalbard, but as of now, I don’t I know, but these were separate specialists, ”Valeriy Martyshchenko, Deputy Director General of Roshydromet, told RIA Novosti.