Apologies for those readers of Socialist Courier who have no interest in the "Battle" to own the North Pole but since our last post we once again note recent developments .
Russia is sending a mini-submarine to explore the ocean floor below the North Pole and find evidence to support its claims to Arctic territory. Two parliamentarians are part of a team . The expedition's "flagship", the Akademik Fyodorov, will follow the trail of the ice-breaking ship Rossiya as it travels from Murmansk to the North Pole.
Melting ice in the Arctic has raised hopes of accessing energy reserves. Russia's claim to a vast swathe of territory in the Arctic, thought to contain oil, gas and mineral reserves, has been challenged by other powers .
"The Arctic is ours and we should demonstrate our presence," Mr Chilingarov , veteran explorer and now politician , told Russian TV.
The bbc website has come up with some recent events regarding the battle of the competing countries for the north pole.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6927395.stm
Also the Independent carries it now as a front page story
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article2831119.ece?service=imagePopUp&field=&version=a&pageNumber=1
because of the Russian claims but of course Socialist Courier have been leading on this story for months now .