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RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES
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Arctica
05
Experts panel on the conflict over Arctic resources
www.en.rian.ru/trend/arctic/
Selection of RIA Novosti reports on Russian Arctic mission
Quotes: Facts about:
“The results of the Russian expedition to the North Pole should
become the core of Russia’s stance on the ownership of part
1

Reserves

US Expedition
The initially recoverable hydrocarbon 3 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
reserves of the Arctic have been estimated Administration (NOAA) said the Coast Guard
of the Arctic shelf. at 136 billion metric tons (999.6 billion cutter Healy, which left the port of Seattle,
barrels) of conventional fuel, or 25% of the Washington on August 6, and a team of scientists
President Vladimir Putin
world’s total. from the University of New Hampshire’s Joint
Hydrographic Center and the National Science
As to the legal aspect of the matter, we from the outset said

Foundation would start exploring the Arctic
Fishing
seafloor August 17. Scientists will explore this
“that this expedition was part of the big work being carried out
2
Russian companies catch about 3 million region to understand its potential for including
under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.
crabs in the Arctic, and begin industrial fish- this area within the United States’ extended
ing for salmon, whales, fur seals, capelin, cod, continental shelf. The U.S. expedition follows a
Foreign minister Serguey Lavrov DMITRY KOROBEINIKOV_RIA NOVOSTI herring, and smelt in the next few years. Russian Arctic trip in late July.
Russian press:
pro & contra
Russia’s Arctic
expedition annoys West
Even the most fervent patriots expedition involved just about
would not dare claim that Rus- everything that the West finds
sia now has legal rights to the so annoying.
North Pole and its subsoil re- In addition, Russia has shown
sources. So why has everyone how rich it is. True, none of
become so agitated about it? the Arctic region countries are
Russia has not made any offi- poor, but not all of them have
cial claims; and when it does, the resources to organize an
it will first send its scientific re- expensive Arctic expedition.
port to the United Nations, not Finally, Moscow has again re-
start with a pirate-style take- minded the West that despite
over. The reason behind such years of depression, its tech-
an inadequate response is the nological potential is still great-
West’s growing annoyance er than most countries. The
with Russia, which they take no Western nations are forced to
The Academician Fyodorov trouble to hide. Russia is seen take Moscow ever more seri-
Arctic Expeditions: Is it exploration, geopolitics,
research vessel launching by the Western public as hy- ously, however reluctant they
the Mir-1 mini-submarine brid between aggressive nou- might be to do that.
or all of the above? Russian media weighs in
during the Arctic-2007 veau-riche at a time of primi-
polar expedition tive growth.The recent arctic
Ice War
Scientist: more harm
than good
Russia’s dive to the North Ridge is a continuation of the
Pole, collection of samples, continental shelf, which would
and placing its titanium flag on allow Russia to claim rights
SERGEY HVOROSTOV_ITAR-TASS the seabed, was a major over it, we should study it at a
One step away from
achievement for Arctic re- depth of 5—7 kilometers, or
A mini-submarine placing searchers, engineers and better still, 10 kilometers,” he
а Russian national flag on other specialists. However, it said. “Samples taken from the
the ocean floor in the North has damaged Russia’s chanc- surface will prove nothing.” Ac-
re-dividing the world
Pole on August 2, 2007. es of claiming the right to that cording to the expert, the ex-
The Mir-1 and Mir-2 mini- part of the sea shelf, Leopold pedition did not collect any
submarines successfully Lobkovsky, deputy director of new data to present to the UN
reached the depth of the Russian Institute of Ocean Commission on the Limits of
4261 meters on Thursday Studies, told the popular daily the Continental Shelf.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta. “To
The Russian expedition to the pedition primarily pursued scien- deny that the results obtained prove that the Lomonosov
North Pole and the symbolic tific goals. by the Russian expedition will
planting of a national flag have However, few people believe be submitted to the UN Com-
perplexed and alarmed the that Russia’s interest in the Arc- mission. It will decide how the
world. Some analysts are even tic is exclusively scientific, all the Arctic’s borders will be drawn
talking about a new “ice war” more so since Russian policy- and who will receive boundless
between Russia and the U.S.- makers and scientists do not Arctic riches.
EPA Why the Russians
led Western world.
NADEZHDA SOROKINA
explore the Arctic
RG
Another international dispute
This fall, the United States will
between Russia and the West?
Nobody seems to remember geopolitical and military ends,
ratify the UN Convention on the that 75 years ago the whereas now economic con-
Law of the Sea and will auto- ice-breaker Alexander siderations have moved to the
matically become a member of
KAMIL BEKYASHEV
take the same amount of time. Sibiryakov made a journey fore. There is not much time
the Commission on the Limits of PROFESSOR Be this as it may, the efforts of along Russia’s Northern Sea left, so Russia is in a hurry. In
the Continental Shelf. Once Russian ocean explorers can al- Route, which connects the early May, a research expedi-
Washington occupies its seat at Now Russia is facing an impor- ready produce positive results. Atlantic and Pacific oceans. tion set off on the nuclear-pow-
the negotiating table with Rus- tant task — to convince the Com- Their information provides the He was the first to get from ered ice-breaker Rossiya for a
sia, it is likely to contest Mos- mission on the Limits of the Conti- groundwork for the adoption of Arkhangelsk, on the White journey from the port of Mur-
cow’s justifications for its Arctic nental Shelf that the Lomonosov Russia’s federal law on the Arc- Completion of the launch of Sea, to Yokohama, Japan in mansk to the eastern Arctic.
bid. Quite possibly, other Arctic and Mendeleyev ridges are an tic and revision of the operating the Mir-1 mini-submarine one go. This was the start of Led by director of the Ocean
nations will side with Washing- extension of its mainland. laws on its continental shelves
SERGEY HVOROSTOV_ITAR-TASS
the active Russian exploration Studies Institute Valery Kamin-
ton. This may lead to a major in- The shelf limits delineated by the and mineral resources. of the Arctic. sky, 50 geophysicists, under-
ternational dispute between coastal states in accordance But Russia’s attempts to extend water geologists and pilots ex-
Russia and the West. with the Commission’s recom- its continental shelf in the Arc- The U.S. Geological Survey Humankind is becoming more
MAXIM KRANS
amined the Lomonosov Ridge
However, Moscow has adopted mendations are final and obliga- tic by a thousand and more miles (USGS) estimates that the Arctic numerous with every passing RIA NOVOSTI in detail. They said they had
a more than philosophical atti- tory for all. may lead to the revision of Article Ocean seabed contains about a year, and its industrial potential collected encouraging data.
tude to the dash for Arctic riches. If a coastal state disagrees with 6 of the Convention, which de- quarter of the world’s oil and huge keeps growing. Our planet is The mission of the Soviet Now, having escorted the Rus-
“Let Western countries fight. the recommendations, it may termines the continental shelf’s deposits of diamonds, gold, plat- becoming more and more polar expeditions was to con- sian weather monitoring agen-
Probably they have a chance of file a revised or new claim to the legal status. It was previously inum, tin, nickel and lead. More- crowded. This is why we should firm sovereignty over the Arc- cy’s flagship Academician
winning. But we are already at Commission within a reasonable agreed that a shelf cannot be over, experts believe that by expect what has hitherto been tic North. The Arctic was seen Fedorov to open water, the
the North Pole and have planted time limit. wider than 350 miles. Now Rus- 2040 ice melt caused in the Arc- considered no-man’s land to be as a limitless source of natu- Rossiya has made an about-
our flag there. We will remain the If Russia presents the Commis- sia is trying to expand its shelf tic by global warming will make re-divided in the next ten years. ral resources and a strategi- face and started a new jour-
first polar explorers in history to sion with indisputable and 100% beyond the universally accepted production and transportation of The Antarctic will follow the Arc- cally important route for rede- ney. It will continue studying the
have been at the Arctic Ocean’s authentic evidence in support of limits. its mineral resources much eas- tic, and the ocean floor will fol- ploying naval forces. Later on, shelf using a remote-controlled
bottom,” said Artur Chilingarov, its Arctic claims in the near fu- ier and cheaper.Today, nobody low suit. Once the ice and the it was viewed as a site for nu- Klavesin 1R submersible.
head of the Russian expedition ture, the latter will review it for a Professor Kamil Bekyashev is doubts that the Arctic and its seabed are divided, the growing clear experiments and ballis- The expeditions will only be part
and deputy speaker of the State three to five year period. Prepa- the head of the international law riches will be divided. But its de- and successful nations may tic missiles — the distance to of the effort. A new drifting sta-
Duma (the parliament). Inciden- rations for border delineation chair at the Moscow State Law limitation may become one step look to territories, which, in their America is shorter from there. tion, SP-35, will start operating.
tally, he deemed it necessary to and the publication of maps will Academy. towards a more far sweeping re- view, some countries are not At that time, the development Samples of the shelf’s soil will
emphasize that the Russian ex- division of the globe. using effectively.
-
of the Arctic pursued primarily probably have to be taken.
-
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