Russia's Kremlin has staked claim to a substantial chunk of the Arctic (more than the 200 miles that border its coast as alloted by the United Nations). Russia is challenging the International Seabed Authority in this current bid to steak claim to gas, oil and minerals in the expanded territory. Russia has challenged the International Seabed Authority in the past but without success; now they are steaking their claim based on an underwater ridge, the Lomonosov Ridge, that connects Russia to the Arctic. This is currently not allowed under the UN protocol.
This newly claimed "Russian" area is said to hold twice the oil of Saudi Arabia and is 5 times the size of Britian.
You can read more here.
Some questions:
-How do you think the West will react to this claim?
-Do you think this is a predictable step by Putin who is becomming less warm to outside influence?
-Will this boundary issue spark more land grabbing and territorial disputes or even war?
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