Arctic Yearbook 2015 | Page 351

351 Arctic Yearbook 2015 After Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and critical involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, many of the above presented forums have either seen a clear cooling in the relations of most Arctic states to Russia and are now dominated by mutual accusations or have for the time being been completely suspended. The suspended forums are those which involve practical military cooperation with Russia, such as the NRC (NATO Foreign Ministers 2014), the CHOD and joint military exercises and other forms of direct military co-operation (e.g. Pettersen 2014; Pettersen & Nilsen 2015; Johnsen 2015). At the same time, the statement by NATO’s Foreign Ministers emphasizes that the political dialogue with Russia can continue on “the Ambassadorial level and above” (NATO Foreign Ministers 2014).4 Other forums and formats, such as the AC, the BEAC, the FSC, the EAPC and th P