Russia submits Arctic claim to UN

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Russia has submitted a bid to the UN for large swathes of the Arctic sea shelf.

The ministry said that Russia is claiming 1.2 million square kilometers (463,300 square miles) of the sea shelf, an area of rising tension.

The US, Canada, Denmark and Norway have made rivals claims to large portions of the Arctic sea shelf, believed to hold vast amounts natural resources, such as oil and gas.

The Russia Foreign Ministry noted that the area, including the North Pole, may provide access to an estimated 4.9 million tons of hydrocarbons, citing government figures.

According to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries have sovereignty over their territorial sea up to a 200-nautical mile (370-kilometer) limit, though it may be extended to 350-nautical miles (648.2 kilometers) if evidence proves an extension of the sea shelf.

Russia claims that the extended 350-nautical mile rule does not apply as the area claimed by Moscow is part of the continent's natural components.

In 2002, Russia submitted its first claim to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, stating it had sufficient evidence to back rights over the area.

However, the UN commission denied it for lack of evidence.

"Ample scientific data collected in years of Arctic research are used to back the Russian claim," the ministry said, reported AFP news agency.

In July, Russia published a revised version of its naval doctrine, adding that a "Northern Fleet" would be developed to secure the Eurasian country's territorial sovereignty in the Arctic.

ls/jil (AFP, AP)