Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday submitted the renewed claim to the United Nations for an additional 1.2 million square kilometers (463,000 square miles) of the Arctic continental shelf. If the shelf extends far out to sea, so can the boundaries of the zone.
Advertisement
In 2007, Moscow symbolically dropped a canister containing a Russian flag on the Arctic Ocean floor from a submarine at the North Pole.
Russian Federation expects the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to start looking at its bid in the autumn, the ministry said.
“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.
The ministry said the resubmitted bid contains new arguments.
Denmark has laid its own claim to the North Pole, saying scientific data shows Greenland’s continental shelf is connected to a ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean.
Russian Federation has filed a claim at the UN for a large swathe of the Arctic, more than a decade after its first claim was turned down. Kremlin officials said the facilities are crucial for protecting shipping routes that link Europe with the Pacific Ocean.
As global warming causes the Arctic ice cap to melt, more of the previously unchartered territory has become accessible.
Advertisement
Environmental group Greenpeace responded to the announcement by warning of the environmental risks of drilling for oil in the new uncovered areas. “Unless we act together, this region could be dotted with oil wells and fishing fleets within our lifetimes”. “Temperatures are increasing at more than twice the rate of the global average, which means the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems and the ability of future generations to adapt and live and prosper in the Arctic is tragically, but actually, in jeopardy”, Kerry said.
