In his statement at yesterday's Arctic Council Kiruna Ministerial meeting, the representative and earlier 1st Vice-President of the Russian Association of Indigeous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) spoke on behalf of 40 indigenous peoples in Russia.

Among other things, he pleaded for the establishment of joint international regime under the auspices of the Arctic Council for managing the exploitation of the natural resources of the circumpolar region in ways that maintain the ecological balance and respect the the right of indigenous peoples to traditional nature use, preservation of identity and way of life.