Russia Will Not Dispute Canada's Claim on North Pole

Russia has decided not to dispute Canada's claim to the North Pole. According to the Russian government, it is going to dispute the share of the North Pole with no other country. The announcement came on Wednesday Dec. 12.

Sergei Donskoy, the minister for Natural Resources and Environment, issued a statement saying that the delimitation of the Northern Ocean's continental shelf is not an immediate issue.

Canada expressed its willingness to demand territorial claims for the North Pole which is a part of the country's authoritative demand in the Arctic. Canada, on the other hand, may not possess enough scientific evidence to back their claim up as Ottawa has already expressed that it would require working more for ensuring the submission of the claim to the UN.

According to Donskoy, three countries have the common interest in the North Pole: Denmark, Russia and Canada. He has admitted that Canada happens to be the country which has already worked significantly on the subject. The country can support its claim with decade-long scientific work.

There is an exclusive 370 kilometers economic zone in the Northern seas, which is observed by Norway, Denmark, Canada, Russia and the U.S. The countries are free to demand expansion of the exclusive zone they are in charge of. The expansion can be claimed for as long as 200 nautical miles.

According to the UN Convention, every country must prove that the seabed it is claiming is a natural extension of the continental shelf of the country. All the five countries have been in the process of building scientific evidence for over a decade for claiming an expansion of their territory.

John Baird, the foreign minister of Canada, made a stunning statement that Canada's territorial claim would include a part of the North Pole. Canada has apparently got enough reasons for establishing its expansion in the Arctic. Many believe that the Arctic holds the one-third of the natural gas and oil resources.