MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) — Russia is set to send a submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to expand its territories in the Arctic Ocean, Russia's Minister of Natural Resources Sergei Donskoy said Wednesday.
"In light of research carried out, in accordance with the schedule, our government will submit the arctic application to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. I would like to say that an approval of the Russian application would consolidate Russia's sovereign right to an additional 1.2 million square kilometers of the Arctic Ocean", Donskoy said during a government meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"It will also boost hydrocarbon resources by more than 5 billion tons in fuel equivalent and, of course, help us ensure our geopolitical interests in the Arctic by establishing jurisdiction and control over activities on the seabed," the minister added.
CLCS aims to facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to which coastal states are limited to their exclusive economic zones of 200 nautical miles.
The commission may consider applications and data from coastal states concerning limits extending beyond this distance, and provide recommendations. According to the Law of the Sea, coastal states' establishment of outer shelf limits in accordance with these recommendations "shall be final and binding".
