OREANDA-NEWS. December 11, 2012. 29 November - 8 December 2012 Russian and American observers conducted the second part of a joint inspection of third-party Antarctic stations in accordance with the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty of 1991. The first part of the inspection took place from 23 to 29 January 2012.

Russian-American group of authorized observers, based at the Russian Antarctic station "Novolazarevskaya", has visited the following stations: Maitri (India), Troll (Norway), Syowa (Japan), Zhongshan (China), Princess Elizabeth (Belgium) and Bharati (India).

The Russian Federation, being together with the United States an original Party to the Antarctic Treaty, maintains keen interest in the full, responsible and unconditional compliance with the Treaty’s goals and principles by all states, carrying out their activities in the Southern continent. The Russian Federation continuously supports peace and stability in the region, stands for freedom of scientific research and observance of the environmental requirements.

These activities are of special importance since it is not only the first inspection in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty, conducted by the Russian Federation, but also the first inspection organized jointly with foreign partners. This supports the development of the inspection regime and overall international cooperation in the Antarctic Treaty area.

Russian-American interaction in Antarctica is based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America on cooperation in Antarctica, signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 8 September 2012.

The representatives of the Russian Federation and the United States appreciated the high level of knowledge and compliance with the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty of 1991 and other documents of the System of the Antarctic Treaty, shown by the personnel of the aforementioned stations.

The members of the Russian-American inspection team are sincerely grateful for the hospitality and assistance rendered at the visited stations, the openness and friendliness of the Indian, Norwegian, Chinese, Japanese and Belgian personnel.

The Report of the joint Russian-American inspection will be presented at the next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (Brussels, Belgium, May 2013).