The Arctic Is Ours: Kremlin

Russia claims polar mineral wealth
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 21, 2007 2:33 AM CDT
The Arctic Is Ours: Kremlin
This satellite image released by NASA in 2005 shows the concentration of Arctic sea ice. There was less sea ice in the Arctic on Friday than ever before on record, and the melting is continuing, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. (AP Photo/NASA)   (Associated Press)

In the latest audacious claim by Russia, the nation is insisting that rock samples taken 13,000 feet beneath the North Pole prove that a large part of the Arctic seabed is rightfully Russian territory. The US, Canada, Norway and Denmark also have territorial claims to the mineral-rich area that's becoming increasingly accessible as the ice cap melts.

Last month the crew of a Russian mini-sub planted an underwater flag claiming the area. Officials now say that rock from the large Lomonosov Ridge area of the Arctic prove it's contiguous to Russian land, and plan to submit the evidence to the United Nations.  Samples "confirm the ridge is part of the adjoining continental shelf of the Russian Federation," said a Kremlin statement. (More Russia stories.)

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