Opinion | Editorials
Russia plays foul at the North Pole
Moscow claims large swathes of the Arctic, much to the dismay of Canada and Denmark.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:07 October 2, 2008
Very much out of sight, but not necessarily out of mind, is a problem that is heating up over the North Pole. It has nothing to do with climate change, this time, but a change of attitude on the part of the Russians over what it considers to be its territory.
Russia has laid claim to large swathes of the Arctic - approximately 18 per cent, which equates to the size of Europe, and has pressed its point by first planting a flag at the North Pole four years ago, then allegedly this year planting a titanium Russian flag on the seabed under the North Pole.
This has enraged Canada and Denmark particularly, who have always said part of the Arctic was their territory. Canada proclaimed its formal freehold to the territory in 1925, although some would argue that the claim could go back to the 16th century at the time of an official visit by English explorer Henry Hudson.
The reason the issue has been brought to the surface again is the increased aggression by Russia, which claims that a massive underwater mountain range is part of its continental shelf. Presumably the estimated 90 billion barrels of oil and gas played no small part in the equation.
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