Russia and U.S. Find Common Cause in Arctic Pact

The United States, Russia and three other nations with Arctic Ocean coastlines agreed last year to regulate trawling in Arctic waters newly free of ice. But the deep freeze in East-West relations after Russia’s annexation of Crimea delayed the expected signing, New York Times reports.

The day after Secretary of State John Kerry met with President Vladimir V. Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi last week, Russia announced it would sign the fishing agreement.

“I think the Arctic genuinely is shaping up to be the exception to the rule,” said Scott Highleyman, director of the Arctic Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts. “The U.S. and Russia seem to be trying really hard to keep talking to each other.”