Russia seeks meeting with UN Ocean Affairs Commission

By Arne Finne, High North News June 30, 2017
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The Lomonosov Ridge, the dark blue area stretching across the North Pole, is the source of both Russian and Danish claims to the North Pole. (NOAA)
The Lomonosov Ridge, the dark blue area stretching across the North Pole, is the source of both Russian and Danish claims to the North Pole. (NOAA)

Russia wants to meet the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in July.

According to the Danish online newspaper Arktisk Nyt, the Russian Minister of Natural Resources Sergey Donskoy has stated that the Russians are seeking to meet with the Commission.

The background for the meeting is the Russian claim to areas in the Arctic Ocean seabed, including the North Pole area. The request for a meeting comes as the commission seats newly elected members.

According to the Tass news agency, Donskay has said that they want to discuss the Russian claims, however, they will not launch any new claims when meeting with the commission members.

Russia’s territorial claims cover about 1.2 million square kilometers (about 465,000 square miles) and partially overlap the Danish claim (including around the North Pole) regarding the rights to the seabed resources.