Foreign Ministry assesses the possibility of Russian shelf expansion in the Arctic
© RIA Novosti. Nina Zotina

Foreign Ministry assesses the possibility of Russian shelf expansion in the Arctic

Nikolai Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Russia's Senior Arctic Official at the Arctic Council, said that Russia has a good chance of expanding its shelf in the Arctic.

“The expansion of the Russian shelf is very likely. Russia submitted a claim, which is under review by the relevant agencies and committees that consider such applications within the UN. It is too early to say [about the timing – ed.],” he said during a news conference dedicated to Polar Explorer's Day.

As the diplomat previously reported, Russia filed a claim with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in 2015. The application concerns underwater territories with an area of ​​over one million square kilometers, including the Lomonosov Ridge, the Podvodnikov Basin, the Mendeleev Rise, the North Pole zone and the southern tip of the Gakkel Ridge.