Devils731 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/arti...in_page_id=1811 Russian leader Vladimir Putin has made an astonishing bid to grab a vast chunk of the Arctic, giving himself claim to its vast potential oil, gas and mineral wealth. His audacious argument that an underwater Russian ridge is linked to the North Pole is likely to lead to an international outcry. Some commentators have already observed it is further evidence of growing Russian assertiveness under its authoritarian president. The Russian media trumpeted the findings of a Moscow scientific mission to the region which boasts "sensational" geological discoveries enabling the Kremlin to make the territorial claim. Populist newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda - a cheerleader for Putin - printed a map of the North Pole showing a "new addition" to Russia, a triangle five times the size of Britain with twice as much oil as Saudi Arabia. The six-week mission on a nuclear ice-breaker claimed that the underwater Lomonsov ridge is geologically linked to the Siberian continental platform - and similar in structure. The detailed findings are likely to be put to the United Nations in a bid to bring it under the Kremlin noose, and provide the bonanza of an estimated 10 billion tonnes of gas and oil deposits as well as significant sources of diamonds, gold, tin, manganese, nickel, lead and platinum. Under current international law, the countries ringing the Arctic - Russia, Canada, the US, Norway, Denmark (Greenland) - are limited to a 200 mile economic zone around their coastlines. Currently, a UN convention stipulates that none of these countries can claim jurisdiction of the Arctic seabed because the geological structure does not match that of the surrounding continental shelves. The region is administered by the International Seabed Authority - the authority now being challenged by Moscow. A previous attempt to claim the oil and gas resources beyond its 200 miles zone five years ago was rejected - but this time Moscow intends to make a far more serious submission to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The head of the government-funded expedition Valery Kaminsky, director of the All-Russian Oceanic Scientific Research Institute, said he has key photographic evidence to prove the geological claims. "These are very interesting facts for the world community," he said. Yuri Deryabin, head of the Institute of North European Countries, said: "I estimate Russia's chances to gets its piece of the Arctic pie highly enough - but the main battle is just starting." He acknowledged the negotiations would be "complicated". The claim is likely to provoke an outcry from green groups but there is also Russian opposition. Sergei Priamikov, of Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, said the notion was "strange" and warned other countries could make counter claims. Canada "could say that the Lomonosov ridge is part of the Canadian shelf, which means Russia should in fact belong to Canada, together with the whole of Eurasia", he observed drily. A diplomatic source said that Russia was "seeking to secure its grip on oil and gas supplies for decades to come. Putin wants a strong Russia, and Western dependence for oil and gas supplies is a key part of his strategy. He no longer cares if his strategy upsets the West". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Canada "could say that the Lomonosov ridge is part of the Canadian shelf, which means Russia should in fact belong to Canada, together with the whole of Eurasia", he observed drily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Impossible bc Santa owns the north pole and I'm sleeping with Mrs Claus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 Impossible bc Santa owns the north pole and I'm sleeping with Mrs Claus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 If Santa can't keep his wife in line I have no reason to believe he can keep his land either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxLancerHockeyxX Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 If Santa can't keep his wife in line I have no reason to believe he can keep his land either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
point Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 As the ice north of Canada melts, the US is trying to squash Canada's claim to territorial waters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 As the ice north of Canada melts, the US is trying to squash Canada's claim to territorial waters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 The head of the government-funded expedition Valery Kaminsky, director of the All-Russian Oceanic Scientific Research Institute, said he has key photographic evidence to prove the geological claims. "These are very interesting facts for the world community," he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxLancerHockeyxX Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Damn Russians. >.< lmao. jk jk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hey hey now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squishyx Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 Damn, i didnt know the Northpole went unclaimed for so long, I totally would have been over that. Anyone know if the Antartica is reserved? Dibs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestevens Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 ...i didnt even think you could claim the north pole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyFan42 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 ...i didnt even think you could claim the north pole Russia showed up late to the UN's keeper thread and started claiming all sorts of weird things around the globe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Damn, i didnt know the Northpole went unclaimed for so long, I totally would have been over that. Anyone know if the Antartica is reserved? Dibs!! Nobody owns the North Pole, but everybody owns Antarctica. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Antarctica.jpg BTW - Just last week the Canadian government said that it was going to spend 3.1 billion on 5 new ships that will patrol all open passages in the north. That's meant to keep the Russians *AND* you guys out of our water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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