The Russian ice-resistant North Pole may become a platform for international cooperation; the involvement of scientists from India and China in Arctic expeditions is being discussed, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) Alexander Makarov told Sputnik.
"Now the ice-resistant platform has successfully demonstrated its work in the Arctic; it may be an excellent platform for international cooperation. We are already actively discussing this topic with our Indian and Chinese colleagues," Makarov said.
According to him, during the recent official visit to Moscow by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a memorandum was signed between AARI and the Indian National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Makarov specified that the document envisages the expansion of cooperation between Russia and India, in the field of scientific research and logistics in the polar regions.
"We have a long history of cooperation with our Indian colleagues in Antarctica - our stations are located nearby, we always help each other. It is impossible to work in the Antarctica without mutual support. In the coming years, we will expand cooperation in the Arctic. By the way, a similar format is also being discussed with our colleagues from China," the head of the institute added.
The drifting polar expedition "North Pole-41", which was carried out for the first time in a new format with the support of an ice-resistant platform, was completed in May 2024. It became a continuation of the domestic program of drifting polar stations "North Pole", which began in 1937 with an expedition led by Ivan Papanin. In 2013, the program had to be curtailed due to melting ice in the Arctic.
The North Pole vessel, which has no analogues in the world, was built at Russia's Admiralty Shipyards and launched in 2022. It became a transportation means, a home, a research center, and even a measuring device for the polar explorers - sensors are built into the LSP hull that will help study ice conditions.