The UN will recognize Russia's rights to the Arctic shelf within the coming three to five years, TASS reported, citing Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia Artur Chilingarov.

"After our expedition, Russia actively prepared for its second application for the Arctic shelf, which was submitted a year ago. Then it's up to the UN and the Commission on the Law of the Sea to decide. It will take three to five years, and if there are no political games, we will get international rights to the Arctic by 2020-2023, I think as a scientist, which is 1,200,000 square kilometers," Chilingarov said.

Ten years ago, Chilingarov with a team of polar explorers conquered the true pole point by descending in the Mir-1 and Mir-2 submersibles to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the intersection of the geographical meridians. The expedition was part of the program to study whether the Arctic shelf and the Lomonosov Ridge belonged to Russia.