Russia submits to UN revised application to expand Arctic territory

Russia has submitted to the United Nations a revised application to expand its Arctic zone, the country's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Russia claims the territories over 350 nautical miles off the Arctic Ocean coastline, which covers about 1.2 million square kilometers of the continental shelf, the ministry said in a statement.

To support the claim, Russia also submitted a detailed geological research of the Arctic seabed to the UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS).

"According to the CLCS procedures and practice, Russia's application must be given a priority consideration because Russia initially submitted the claim in 2002," the statement said.

In 2002, the CLCS rejected the application for lack of evidence.

Moscow hopes the CLCS would consider the application in the fall.

Last October, Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi said that if the request is approved, Russia will have a chance to increase its forecasts for hydrocarbon resources by 5 billion tons of equivalent fuel.

Russia, along with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway, exercises sovereignty of 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone from their respective Arctic shorelines.

All the five countries have reserved the right to demand expansion of their exclusive zones, which requires each country to demonstrate that the seabed is a natural extension of its continental shelf. Endi