Russia makes a claim for Arctic Territories (Photo : REUTERS/REUTERS TELEVISION)
The Russian Foreign Ministry has submitted a proposal to the United Nations claiming ownership over an expanse of territory in the Arctic.
In a statement quoted by The Guardian, it said that Russia is claiming more than 400,000 sq. miles of sea shelf which extend beyond 300 nautical miles from the arctic shore.
Countries have begun clamoring to assert ownership over areas of the Arctic and countries such as Canada, United States, Norway and Denmark have all put in a bid for jurisdiction over Arctic acreage believed to contain a quarter of the earth's untapped oil and gas resources, according to the publication.
With the shrinking of polar ice the situation has opened up opportunities for countries to explore what little remains of oil and gas resources.
The publication reported that the approximately 400,000 square miles being claimed by Russia is also home to valuable minerals.
The area is also part of a northern shipping route which has begun opening out with the melting of arctic ice owing to global warming, according to CNBC.
In 2002, Russia was the first country to submit a claim, but the UN turned the bid down owing to a lack of evidence.
This time around the Russian Ministry says the new arguments put forward by the government come backed with scientific data collected in relation to Arctic research.
Under the UN's 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, the convention dictates how further from a country's recognized border it is permitted to have an individual economic zone.
The convention according to the website allows countries a 200 mile zone from its borders to be claimed except in instances where a country is capable of proving that the continental shelf on which it lies extends beyond the stipulated 200 mile radius. In such instances, the convention recognizes a 350 mile zone.
