Top US, Russian Diplomats Meet Face-to-Face at Arctic Summit
Voice of America
Climate change and cooperation among Arctic states are among the topics of discussion Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, as the Arctic Council holds a ministerial meeting.
“We value our strong international cooperation through the Council to address the climate crisis and keep the Arctic region peaceful,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said ahead of Thursday’s talks. Earlier in the week, Blinken urged the global community to avoid militarizing the Arctic, and said Russia has advanced “unlawful maritime claims” in the region. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week that Western countries should not claim rights to the Arctic, and that Russia is responsible for ensuring its Arctic coast is safe.Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.