Story:" Russian explorers dived deep below the North Pole in a submersible on Thursday and planted a national flag on the seabed to stake a symbolic claim to the energy riches of the Arctic.
A mechanical arm dropped a specially made rust-proof titanium flag onto the Arctic seabed at a depth of 4,261 meters (13,980 ft) under the surface,
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Under international law, the five states with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone around the north of their coastline.
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"The aim of this expedition is not to stake Russia's claim but to show that our shelf reaches to the North Pole," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Manila, where he is attending a regional security conference."
What is up the Russians? I suppose leaving well enough alone with this issue just was not good enough.
Anyways, it'll all be melting soon anyways, so they may have a point, the early bird gets the worm.
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Apparently they are after the oil and gas.
I don't think space would allow me to comment on all of this. This is all part of a general renewed assertiveness on the part of the Russians for various reasons. They have always resented losing their "great power" status after the Soviet collapse. I would say from my perspective that any nation with 20,000-plus nuclear warheads was a power, but that's beside the point. But they intend for the world (and especially the West) to take Russia seriously.
Also, the current economic "boom" in Russia is largely connected to the global spike in oil and gas prices. Being flush with cash enables them to be more adventuristic. Finding new resources of oil and gas helps further that along.
There are other aspects to this, but you get the idea.
I always knew that Santa was a Commie. I mean, he wears nothing but red and has a legion of unpaid workers slaving away "for the good of all children everywhere". At least he doesn't call them his little comrades.
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