Russia demanding ownership of the North Pole

[Geee]

Washington Times:

Russia, while still digesting its meal of Crimea, is taking another bite at expanding its sovereignty by laying claim Tuesday to the North Pole and a large area of the Arctic Ocean — an area involving oil and gas drilling as well as fishing.

 

The Russian Foreign Ministry submitted its request on Tuesday to the United Nations committee that arbitrates sea boundaries.

 

The Arctic Ocean has attracted other countries, including the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway, and exposed rivalries over resources such as untapped oil and gas.

 

Russia made a bid in 2002, but the U.N. committee rejected it because of a lack of evidence.

 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had “ample scientific data collected in years of Arctic research” to back up its revised bid and its claim over the area, The Associated Press reported

[clearvision]

They are trying to take over Santa's business now?

[Geee]

They are trying to take over Santa's business now?

I always knew Rudolph the Red was a Russian

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that it had submitted a bid for vast Arctic territories that could contain large quantities of oil and gas to the United Nations.

 

The ministry said in a statement that Moscow was claiming over 463,000 square miles of Artic sea shelf extending more than 350 nautical miles from the shore.

 

The Arctic is believed to hold up to 25 percent of the planet's untapped oil and gas supplies, and Russia, the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Norway have all been trying to assert jurisdiction over parts of the territory. The competition has intensified in recent years as shrinking polar ice is opening new opportunities for exploration.

 

Russia was the first to submit its claim in 2002, but the U.N. sent it back for lack of evidence. It submitted a partial revision regarding the Okhotsk Sea in 2013 and the commission issued a recommendation the following year, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

 

The ministry said that the resubmitted bid contains new arguments. "Ample scientific data collected in years of Arctic research are used to back the Russian claim," it said.

 

Greenpeace responded by warning of the environmental risks.

 

"The melting of the Arctic ice is uncovering a new and vulnerable sea, but countries like Russia and Norway want to turn it into the next Saudi Arabia," Greenpeace Russia Arctic campaigner Vladimir Chuprov said in a statement. "Unless we act together, this region could be dotted with oil wells and fishing fleets within our lifetimes."

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Well, it would be better than having to deal with the actual Saudi Arabia...