ThomasMore
08-02-2007, 09:30 AM
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian explorers dived deep below the North Pole in a submersible on Thursday and planted a national flag on the seabed to stake a symbolic claim to the energy riches of the Arctic.
A mechanical arm dropped a specially made rust-proof titanium flag onto the Arctic seabed at a depth of 4,261 meters (13,980 ft) under the surface, Itar-Tass news agency quoted expedition officials as saying.
Russia wants to extend right up to the North Pole the territory it controls in the Arctic, believed to hold vast reserves of untapped oil and natural gas.
Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone around the north of their coastline.
But Russia is claiming a larger slice extending as far as the pole because, Moscow says, the Arctic seabed and Siberia are linked by one continental shelf.
Reuters, via Yahoo! (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070802/wl_nm/russia_arctic_dc_5)
It might be symbolic, but the Russians are going to a lot of trouble with this. No doubt they mean to make this stick.
A mechanical arm dropped a specially made rust-proof titanium flag onto the Arctic seabed at a depth of 4,261 meters (13,980 ft) under the surface, Itar-Tass news agency quoted expedition officials as saying.
Russia wants to extend right up to the North Pole the territory it controls in the Arctic, believed to hold vast reserves of untapped oil and natural gas.
Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone around the north of their coastline.
But Russia is claiming a larger slice extending as far as the pole because, Moscow says, the Arctic seabed and Siberia are linked by one continental shelf.
Reuters, via Yahoo! (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070802/wl_nm/russia_arctic_dc_5)
It might be symbolic, but the Russians are going to a lot of trouble with this. No doubt they mean to make this stick.