Russia aims at year-round sailing across Arctic sea route

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the country seeks to establish year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic, reported Xinhua.

"In the coming years, movement along the Northern Sea Route may become year-round, bearing in mind the consequences of possible climate change," Putin said at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society via video link.

The Arctic is a region where the effects of climate change are most obvious, he said, adding that the study of the Arctic is in the interests of all mankind.

Putin underlined Russia's ongoing efforts to construct "the world's most powerful" nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet.