The inquiry into Russia’s case for extending its territory will be held by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).
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Under worldwide law, a country has exclusive economic rights over the continental shelf within a 370km radius from its coast.
The Kremlin’s foreign ministry said that the government is attempting to claim 1.2million square km (over 463,000 miles) of Arctic sea shelf which stretches over 350 nautical miles (650km) from the shore.
“To justify Russia’s rights on this space, ample scientific knowledge collected throughout a few years of Arctic analysis has been used”, the Overseas Ministry assertion stated, alluding to exploratory missions and improvement of Arctic analysis amenities and floating ice stations going again to the 1930s.
Russian Federation first submitted such a claim in 2002, but the UN returned it due to a lack of evidence.
But global warming is changing that fast, as wider and wider areas of the Arctic become free of ice for all or part of the year. Hence, Moscow says, its Arctic shelf extends up to the North Pole.
At a Russian government-sponsored Arctic improvement convention in Moscow in January, scientists and economists disclosed their projections that the ocean shelf being pursued accommodates 90% of Russia’s remaining nickel, cobalt and platinum, 60% of copper, and virtually all the nation’s explored reserves of titanium, tin and barite.
Conservation groups have opposed any claims to the waters of the doughnut hole, saying they would bring harmful oil drilling and fishing.
In recent years, Russian Federation has moved to bolster its military focus near the Arctic, with a renewed effort to restore Soviet-era base on the New Siberian Islands and other military outposts.
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We have a once in a generation chance to do things differently. “The protection of the Arctic is a defining issue for our times, and it can help bring countries together”. The ministry said it expected a decision by autumn.
