Continental shelf of Russia

The Siberian Shelf in the Arctic Ocean is the largest (and least explored) of the Russian shelves, a region of strategic importance because of its oil and natural gas reserves.

On 20 December 2001, Russia made an official submission into the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (article 76, paragraph 8).

In the document it is proposed to establish new outer limits of the continental shelf of Russia beyond the previous 200 nautical mile zone (370 km), but within the Russian Arctic sector.

[citation needed] On 2 August 2007, Russian explorers in a submersible planted the national flag on the seabed below the North Pole in symbolic support of the 2001 claim.

[8] In response to Russia's planting the national flag on the seabed at the North Pole, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said, "This isn't the 15th century.

In response to these words the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov stated: "I was amazed by my Canadian counterpart's statement that we are planting flags around.

[11] On 9 February 2016, Russia formally submitted to the United Nations a revised application with substantiated evidence of shelf claims to the Arctic Ocean seabed, including an area under the North Pole.

[14] All collected data show the continental character of the Lomonosov Ridge, the Mendeleev-Alfa High, the Chukotka Plateau, as well as the continuous extension of these elements from the shallow Eurasian shelf.