In my opinion if the Russians keep it up they are the ones who are going to be dying of a large overdose of gamma and beta radiation! Then there will be a large area (formerly the Russian Federation) on the Earth which will be very quiet for about 10,000 years or so? Do you hear the Horsemen ride?

Jack, Los Angeles, USA

"So if the Arctic region, which is an extension of their continental shelf, is not theirs - whose is it? "

All your base are belong to us.

But seriously, why is the title so alarmist when the Russians are proceeding by means both legal and proper?

If that's the geology, then so be it.

Rob, Rome, Italy

What will dictator Putin and Medvedev claim next? the moon perhaps or the sun?

A, dfsfs, Austrailia

So if the Arctic region, which is an extension of their continental shelf, is not theirs - whose is it?
British? American?
Are we going to send in NATO to take it.
Of course it belongs to Russia.
As for some comments - Russia is resurgent , the West is infiltrated, overpopulated, greedy & dying

Elizabeth, Herts, England

IF USA done this without even consulting UN, I can guarantee there would still be a more positive spin to this!

But Russia does everything by the book (UN Charter, International Law, etc… you know those things that Americans spit on and ignore) and its “unnerving” and “imperialistic”

Wonderful

A.A., Melborne, Australia

I expect that Tsar Putin will next make the claim that there are Russian citizens living on those ice floes that need to be protected. Perhaps he will give Russian passports to seals as well.

Kevin Finnerty, Atlanta, USA

"In the minds of Russians, the fact they placed a flag on the moon first constitutes ownership of the moon?"
Justin Kelsey, Sevenoaks, UK

‘The US put a flag on the moon in 1969, so the moon belongs to us and nobody else can have it’.
Gary, Kansas, USA

Who is thinking what ?

Leonard, Sardinia,

Perhaps Alexey K of Moscow could tell all of us 'illiterate westerns", if in the minds of Russians, the fact they placed a flag on the moon first constitutes ownership of the moon? If the answer is Yes then we can assume Russia will be planting a lot more flags and deal with them accordingly.

Justin Kelsey, Sevenoaks, UK

Comrade, even if you succeed in claiming that resources, eventually in the future when someone invents a new power source, that heat homes, all that gas and oil will be useless, worthless.
-
They have already invented the floating nuclear power station, what if THEY invent the new power source ?

Leonard, Sardinia,

Russia and Medvedev can prance around the world stage and blow as much hot air as they like, but it is little more than the bluster of a childish and impotent bully. Beating up the wimpy little kid next door doesn't impress anyone and their clanking old Soviet-style military is a total shambles.

J Roberts, Manchester, UK

The rest of the world needs to shift away from using oil as the basis of our economies. Then we can just shrug and say "So what?" when Russia gets up to this type of shenanigans trying to get more oil.

Elizabeth, Des Moines, USA

How many SUV in your neighborhood ? It's a long way, ain't it ?

Leonard, Sardinia,

For all illiterate westerners! USSR was first on the moon with an unmanned mission. Ergo it was first to put a flag on the moon.

Alexey K, Moscow, RF

What a hysteria. "omg!! Russians are coming, all to weapon, bla, bla, bla...". According to the international maritime law, all main Northern countries have the right to pretend to part of Arctic territory. The USA will not be allowed to eat the pie of course. Take care of your nerves guys.

Alex, Moscow, Russia

"Assasinatons at home and abroad; cyber attacks; private business seizures; crushing dissent; invasion of neighbors = Reasonable Russia"

Wow, sounds like the Russians are learning from the USA -- for a minute there I thought this was a reference ot USA foreign policy...

Carl Street, San Francisco California , USA

Because of hype, Russia just wants to be realized by being rich, and now with a place to drill oil, they can do it. Problem ->more global warming. THIS MUST STOP NOW. I order for a shutdown of all banks and monetary organizations. That the hype of greedyness is forever put away.

Brett, Neptune Beach,

The Nu-Soviets are on the move. This time it is not a much smaller country that they seek to claim, but energy (oil) to continue the faux-democracy.

Casey Brown-Myers, Lubbock-Texas, USA

Having the evidence of Lomonosov Ridge is an extension of its territory Russia to HAVE RIGHT claiming for it unlike Canada and Denmark. I admit of Denmark might find similar evidence but not Canada. In that case two countries would be able to negotiate a place of board across the ridge. However at present even Denmark does not have a legal right to claim for the ridge.

Alexey, Moscow,

‘The US put a flag on the moon in 1969, so the moon belongs to us and nobody else can have it’.

Gary, Kansas, USA

You cannot claim for that because you not to be first putting a flag on the moon.

Alexey, Moscow,

Well done, mr President. Russia will become strong whether its enemies like it or not. Birth rate is lower now, but its changing. Economy is stable. Russian mining companies are taking over foreign mines regularly. Next few decades demand for oil, gas, metals will be high. You will respect Russia.

Alex Meshkov, Novosibirsk-Beijing, Russia-China

It's well and good to say that we need to get away from our oil addiction, but there's simply no viable alternative right now. Russia's attempt to dominate the world's energy supplies must be opposed by a united front of the world's free nations. The Bear isn't to be trusted with that kind of power.

Matt, Sacramento, CA, USA

Time has come for China to claim its stolen territory by Russia ,over 375000 thousands square miles. Russia is trying to eat to much these days, but it might choke trying to swallow it.
This Russian ambition must come to and end. What does Russia things she is any way ?

L.A. ISUFI, B. County .N.J., UNITED STATES

IMO the RUSSO-GEORGIAN CONFLICT should be intrepreted as Russ fearing its ability to resist any post-Nuc Islamist destabilization of ASIA, + China's designs on its RFE. Its NOT "Russ vs. NATO" but "Russ wants NATO in Asia. The real danger is CHINA vee Islamist threat to PAKISTAN [NATO in South Asia]

JosephMendiola, Hagatna, Guam USA

After uniting the Eastern europeans with their Georgian adventure, the Russians are now uniting the northern NATO countries with threats against the Artic. If they really want to have the whole world against them, this is probably a good way to go about it.

Ian Bannen, Oxford, UK

Victor, Britain was in the possession of the Falklands before Argentina was even it's own country. The Falklands war was just a poltical tool to get re-elected as they did not really believe we would fight them. How about Sahklin then? Is it Japanese?

Rob, Singapore,

Russia's ruffling a few feathers just lately - with Georgia on our minds, etc...

We shan't mention the UK attempting claim but a few decent hectares of land, under the ocean, surrounding the Falkland Islands, shall we. Only a few million barrels of crude down there. Or is it really Argentina's?

Victor, Moscow,

A flag is pretty much a meaningless gesture unless it can be backed up by superior firepower.

Guess we don't have to worry about Russian claims to much of anything....

Scott, Durahm, NC, USA

It seems clear that Russia has been preparing for this for more than a few years, so this should not be a surprise for UN committees. As the article stated Russia has already initiated processes and procedures to Annex the questionable territory. Future Economic benefits speak loud, no surprise.

Naleen Lal, Northern California,

RasPutin and President Medi-evil should lay off the sauce. The DTs are really bad for their judgement. They were heavy into all the big names that are no more on Wall St, so heavy that they had to shut down their stock markets twice already this week. The Antichrist's bank balance is tanking fast.

Linda Dial, Calgary, Canada

How is it a threat if they lodged a claim with UN? I am constantly surprised by how limited the vocabulary of the free press is...RF wants its share of the Arctic...which they have tried to prove is connected to the Siberian shelf....and they are doing this all within the int. law..and it's a THREAT

Maria, London, UK

Johannesburg Summit; international law; Law of the Sea; UN--people, wake up. Nigel's reasonable Russians care not for these things; they will do what they want.

Assasinatons at home and abroad; cyber attacks; private business seizures; crushing dissent; invasion of neighbors = Reasonable Russia

Terry L. Walker, Ladson, SC / USA

so what we produce gas sell it to europe which in turn buy back at a cost? If it was not for russia we'd all freeze in winter!
And why are we spending millions a year in the Falklands?

Nick, uk,

You reckon this will bring a whole new meaning to the cold war

David Salomon, London,

The US put a flag on the moon in 1969, so the moon belongs to us and nobody else can have it. We are trying to put a flag on Mars as well, so we will own Mars and nobody can have it either. Get the point? Russia is not very large and they certainly need more land or they are doomed.

Gary

Gary, Kansas, USA

Russia with its brutal incometence,capriciousness and corruption is surely an example of a country that achieves so little despite of being endowed with so much.The old joke about the USSR invading Saudi Arabia comes to mind:Nothing would happen for 5 years,then there would be a shortage of sand

Richard, Bexhill, UK

Comrade, even if you succeed in claiming that resources, eventually in the future when someone invents a new power source, that heat homes, all that gas and oil will be useless, worthless.

Luigi, Brooklyn, NY, USA

All that the Arctic represents to these Lunatics is oil and gas, So it is now time to set this area of the world aside and ban all drilling for oil and gas in this last pristine area of the earth, The Arctic is Canadian and the only reason the US sounds conciliatory is they are trying to claim it.

Peter, Vancouver BC., Canada

Bla bla bla . Listen up! It is ours whether you like it or not. Americans are the fattest nation on the planet, they have to loose weight a bit. It is very dangerous to be so fat. We will help them.

Aleksei, Ural, RF

Russia is a nation in it's death-throws. This natiion's population is dwindling: a birth rate of only 1.14. That means Russia's populatin will half in the next 30 years. On top of that, the spread of AIDS in Russia is comparable to levels seen in Africa. Without oil, Russia would already be gone.

Haile, Cleveland, USA/ ohio

The rest of the world needs to shift away from using oil as the basis of our economies. Then we can just shrug and say "So what?" when Russia gets up to this type of shenanigans trying to get more oil.

Elizabeth, Des Moines, USA

All this Russia scare mongering by the western media. Ive met plenty of Russians and they are perfectly reasonable people. If our government wants to fight a war with Russia then it can do so itself because I will never risk my life for the corrupt state sponsored gangsters that rule the UK and USA.

Nigel, UK, UK

Georgia is crumbling, the Ukraine is in political turmoil, the Arctic is being carved up based on might. If the U.N or the U.S doesn't act forcefully soon then they'll be woken from their dream into a greater nightmare.

Artemis, London, England

Just another step towards further global integration as far as I'm concerned, which is only a good thing. Nations like Russia operating alone to their sole agenda's will only catalyse the reactions of the rest of us. Sooner or later they'll have little choice but to learn how to get along.

Bayad, Liverpool, UK

if Obama wins Russia and China will divide the world between them

Richard, Munich, Germany

I am a maritime lawyer. It is incorrect to say international law provides for an "economic zone within 200 miles of its continental shelf". The exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, is an entirely separate concept from that of the continental shelf. EEZ is measured from the baseline, not the shelf.

Bruce P. Dalcher, HITCHIN, HERTS, UK

It is the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention that sets the rules for delimiting national authority over the sea & shelf. Greenland and Canada are expected to make similar claims from their side. I think it is just as important that Russia recognized that other nations will use the Northern Sea Route.

Caitlyn Antrim, Washington, DC, USA

In Canada we've had 30 years of liberal myopia which laboured under the misguided notion the United Nations would clarify these issues.
Let's hope someone in Ottawa wakes up, and takes our used submarines and old fishing boats to reinforce our sovereignty.
SN
Canada

Stephen Nichols, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

We need to get away from an oil based society and then we can be sure that no-one will actually want to spoil the Artic.

PS Surely it belong to the people who live there.

joe, Edinburgh, Scotland

You can claim anything is yours as long as you have the power, in whatever form is relevant, to back it up. That's how it's always been. That's life at it's most fundamental.

Nigel, Lincoln,

After all the claims that the US instigated the Georgia debacle, can there be any doubt as to who is trying to control the world's oil supply? After all, would Russia really care about Georgian separatists if there wasn't a major pipeline due South of there? The Arctic is just the icing on the cake.

Juan, San Diego, USA

How sad,the arctic becomes accessible as global warming melts the ice cap, and we all want our part, so we can make use of the oil in the future. Do we still really think there is a future in a oil based economy??

Tom, ibiza, Spain

Arctic will be clearly divided, according to the International laws. Only if someone wants to make the issue, it will become point to argue.

savo, london, uk

Russia has obviously realised that the real power in the future will not lie in money markets, but in who controls the energy to drive and heat the world. It has also shown that it is not adverse to grabbing it whenever possible.

Gavin, London, UK

This is simply ridiculous. It reminds me of a battle between Duck Dodgers vs. Marvin the Martian over shaving cream molecule in a Lonely Toones cartoon. They just put flags on the surface of the planet X and claim it's theirs. We all know how it ended...

Tomasz, Krakow, Poland

What's America waiting for?! Alright, Russia is becoming stronger than before but still can't confront America. The Yankees should go there and take possession of the biggest share of the Artic they can get. I'd rather see the oil in America's hands than in Russia's.

Horace, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

This is beyond silly- The Johannesburg Summit of 2002 included very specific terms as to where each of these country's Arctic borders are-

Scott Benowitz, Rye, New York, U.S.A.