President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia nust draw the external border in the continental shelf as a responsibility to future generations
Russian scientists last year planted a flag on the ocean floor beneath the North Pole in a symbolic bid to stake a claim over the region.
Russian continental shelf extends along the Lomonosov Ridge, a mountain chain running underneath the Arctic. But this claim has been rejected by Canada, Denmark, Norway and the US.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stipulates that any coastal state can claim territory 200 nautical miles from their shoreline and exploit the natural resources within that zone.
Nations can also provide scientific proof of the natural extension of the continental plate to establish a claim beyond that distance.
The US Geological Survey believes that the Arctic region contains 90-billion untapped barrels of oil.
So the battle for this huge energy sourse will be fierce.
The secretary of Russia's national security council, Nikolai Patrushev, told journalists after a Kremlin meeting, that will defenitely defend its inerests in this international race for the region's reserves.
Author:
Ksenia Kochneva
