Russia's upper house of parliament on Wednesday approved a maritime border delimitation agreement with Norway.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg brought a long-standing dispute over dividing the Barents Sea and part of the Arctic Ocean to an end last year by signing an agreement that paved the way for oil and gas exploration in the lucrative region.
It was approved by the lower house on Monday, despite stiff Communist opposition.
With billions of barrels of oil lying under the Arctic seabed, the region has become a bone of contention for the surrounding countries.
Russia is at loggerheads with Canada over a resource-rich underwater mountain range, the Lomonosov Ridge, with each claiming that it is an extension of their country's continental shelf.
MOSCOW, March 30 (RIA Novosti)
