The dispute between Russia and Denmark on their rights to the continental shelf territories in the Arctic Ocean is yet to be settled, Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Dmitry Kobylkin told TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
"This is a complex process that cannot be resolved in one session. Everyone has its point. We will have to work on it. The issue is still on the agenda," the minister said.
According to a Financial Times publication, the Arctic applications of Russia and Denmark "overlap by about 550,000 sq km, with both claiming the Lomonosov Ridge that stretches 1,800km from off the coast of Greenland and Canada to Russian waters above eastern Siberia."
The minister said that the two states have not managed to solve the problem of overlap in their applications yet but Russia has airtight arguments in its feasibility study.
"The UN Commission meets regularly. We are moving forward on this difficult issue. Taking into account the sanctions and the current attitude towards Russia today, there are many opinions on how this border (marking the territories of Russia and Denmark in the Arctic region) should be established. But it is very difficult for professional geologists - and there are many of them in the commission - to refute our professional and firm arguments," the minister said.