Russia should step up bid for the Arctic
-We are for international cooperation in the Arctic, but we will never give away what is ours by right, Artur Chilingarov, Russian Polar hero and member of parliament, says about Russias Arctic policy.
He also said Russia’s economic interests should be given priority in Arctic research, adding that by 2009 Russia should submit “documentary substantiation of the external boundaries of the Russian Federation’s territorial shelf to the UN”, RIA Novosti reports Russia’s oceanology research institute has undertaken two Arctic expeditions - to the Mendeleyev underwater chain in 2005 and to the Lomonosov ridge last summer - to back Russian claims to the region. Mr. Chilingarov also said there had been sufficient Russian funding for Arctic research in 2008, adding that international cooperation in the area would also continue.
