(CNN) The US State Department on Tuesday denied that it had prevented the Arctic Council from signing a joint declaration after a meeting of the intergovernmental body ended with the release a short statement that did not include the phrase "climate change" instead of a formal declaration.

A senior State Department official contended that the only difference between the joint declaration and the statement was its length and claimed that "there was a consensus reached between all eight members of the Council."

"In fact, I think this was a very, very, positive outcome," they said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini, the chair of the Arctic Council, said in a press conference following the ministerial in Rovaniemi, Finland, that "the declaration in a traditional way wasn't possible this time."

He declined to blame the United States for the lack of consensus, saying, "I don't name and blame anybody," but noted that "it is clear that the climate issues are different from the different viewpoints and from the different capitals."

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