UNITED NATIONS, February 5. /TASS/. The presentation of Russia’s bid for the expantion of its continental shelf boundaries in the Arctic Ocean to the UN Commission is scheduled for February 9, Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN said on Thursday.
"On February 9, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Sergei Donskoi will visit the UN for the presentation of the Russian application for the expansion of its continental [Arctic] shelf," the mission reported.
Russia submitted an application to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) on August 3. Russia claims that the Lomonosov Ridge and other parts of the Arctic seabed belong to its continental shelf. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea allows states to expand their economic zone provided that the seabed beyond it is a natural extension of the continental edge. Besides Russia, making claims to the areas under the masses of the Arctic Ocean water are Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the United States. The interest of the Arctic littoral countries to the submerged Arctic spaces stems from the geologists’ predictions that locked beneath them are 30% of unexplored global reserves of natural gas and 15% of unexplored oilfields.