Donskoi: Russia has to receive approval for remaining two points of Arctic shelf expansion
© RIA Novosti. Vladimir Fedorenko

Donskoi: Russia has to receive approval for remaining two points of Arctic shelf expansion

The UN commission has approved 42 out of the 44 points of the slope of the continental shelf, included in Russia's application for the expansion of the Arctic shelf, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi told reporters.

"Both the leadership and the composition of the [UN] commission has changed. Most importantly, this has had a positive effect when it comes to considering our application. The key task is to agree upon the points of the slope of the continental shelf. Out of the 44 points [included in the Russian application], 42 have been approved. There are only two left," TASS quoted Donskoi as saying.

He added that Russia intends to present the substantiation for the remaining two points at the 45th session of the UN.

In his interview with TASS earlier, Donskoi said Russia hopes that the UN's decision on the application for the expansion of the Arctic shelf will be adopted in 2018.