UNITED NATIONS GIVES RUSSIA LARGE CHUNK OF OIL-RICH ARCTIC - AS BIG AS SWITZERLAND

Illustration - Daily Mail

Russia wins oil rich territory as big as Switzerland without any violence as it is handed 'Ali Baba's cave'  of natural resources in Arctic 
 

Russia was given 20,000 sq mile area in Sea of Okhotsk on March 15

Agreed by UN treaty body Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

Experts believe land grab is dress rehearsal for acquisition of North Pole

It comes amid growing competition in the largely untapped oil-rich region

Putin is building string of high-tech naval bases to protect interests in area

But America, Canada, Norway and Denmark all stake their claim to region

While the world thought it was busy invading Ukraine, Russia was quietly hatching plans for another land grab 4,000 miles away - an oil-rich Arctic territory the size of Switzerland.  But the former Soviet state needed no tanks, guns or militiamen to conquer this swathe of seabed in the Far Eastern Sea of Okhotsk. 

 

Instead, the area - described as an 'Ali Baba's cave' of natural resources - was simply handed to the former Soviet nation by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, a treaty body run by the Unite Nations, on March 15.  But the acquisition is seen by experts as merely a dress rehearsal for a far bigger land grab of the North Pole - a disputed region rich in vast and largely-untapped energy deposits.

 

It comes after 13 years of wrangling in the corridors of the United Nations, and finally Russia got its way.  'This water area of the Sea of Okhotsk has many biological and natural resources, which have not [been] considered as the main income source of the country's economy and now we can consider and include it in our long-term plans,' said Sergei Donskoy, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology.

 

He claimed the treasure trove includes hydrocarbon resources exceeding one billion tonnes. He has described it in the past as 'a real Ali Baba's cave in terms of resources', adding that access will bring 'enormous opportunities and prospects for the Russian economy'.

 

It comes amid international tensions over the growing competition for the Arctic shelf.  Russia is employing every weapon in its arsenal to ensure its stake in the region, militarily, legally and economically.  Two weeks ago, president Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a 'united system of naval bases for ships and next-generation submarines in the Arctic' to defend Russia’s interests there. 

 

Speaking to a Russian Security Council meeting, he suggested 'strengthening of the naval component of the Federal Security Service (FSB) border guard group.'  He went on: 'Russian oil and gas production facilities, loading terminals and pipelines in the Arctic must be protected from terrorists and other potential threats.

 

'It makes sense to create a body similar in status to the state commission with broad authority, as it was previously done for the Russian Far East.'  Raising the spectre of a new kind of 'cold war', U.S. defense secretary Chuck Hagel last week announced America's own intentions in the region, warning of the 'dangerous potential for conflict there'. 

 

'The melting of gigantic ice caps presents possibilities for the opening of new sea lanes and the exploration for natural resources, energy and commerce, also with the dangerous potential for conflict in the Arctic.' he said. 

 

In addition to Russia and the U.S., Arctic sectors have Canada, Norway and Denmark (Greenland). All these five countries, as well as Iceland, Sweden and Finland, are working together in the Arctic Council (established in 1996) on common Arctic issues  in particular on the issues of sustainable development and environmental protection.

 

Link to this article

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2626193/Russia-wins-oil-rich-territory-big-Switzerland-without-violence-handed-Ali-Babas-cave-natural-resources-arctic.html

 

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