[国际新闻] 俄国想并吞北极

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中新网莫斯科6月28日电 据俄新网27日报道称，俄罗斯的领土面积可能会再扩大120万平方公里。从北极回来的“海洋地质”全俄科研所的考察组用深度探测方法确定了水底的罗蒙诺索夫山脉是俄罗斯领土的自然延伸，认为它应该属于俄罗斯领土。! R. x$ k( L* m/ M/ }: `. r
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报道说，这个新的发现为俄罗斯在对这一块令人垂涎的北极领土进行的国际争议中提供了优势。因为丹麦和加拿大也希望得到罗蒙诺索夫山脉。
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) K! b0 y0 w% T! v1 t　　然而，一些科学家对俄罗斯的想法能否站得住脚表示怀疑。: \- l& J7 R* l6 M( [
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　　英国《卫报》报道说，一个国家要对大陆架提出要求，必须能够证明这个大陆架的结构与其领土的地质结构相似，根据目前的《联合国海洋法公约》，任何国家的大陆架都没有延伸到北极地区。国际海底管理局也将北极周围地区看作国际领域。rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de$ o, k4 E; P) p- j0 z
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　　位于圣彼得斯堡的俄罗斯北极、南极研究所国际合作主任Sergey Priamikov对《卫报》说，“坦率地说，我对此觉得有点莫名其妙。”他说，“加拿大也可以提出同样的要求，加拿大可以说罗蒙诺索夫海岭是加拿大大陆架的一部分，那就意味着俄罗斯以及整个欧亚大陆都属于加拿大。”
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! ^6 p: w$ m, N" h" crs238848.rs.hosteurope.de　　据报道，俄罗斯曾于2001年向联合国专门委员会提出了扩大其现有北部大陆架面积的要求，但遭到了拒绝。/ u- a( ]( X7 @7 M
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　　据某些估计，罗蒙诺索夫山大概蕴藏100亿吨石油和天然气，这些资源的估价超过1万亿美元。人在德国 社区$ B9 Z' F% @# e  _2 j

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4 Z+ b7 G8 }0 [' crs238848.rs.hosteurope.deUnder international law, no country owns the North Pole. 人在德国 社区- a& J1 F, U( l8 |2 X
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Kremlin lays claim to huge chunk of oil-rich North Pole' G/ ?& D4 e0 N" |4 {
It is already the world's biggest country, spanning 11 time zones and stretching from Europe to the far east. But yesterday Russia signalled its intention to get even bigger by announcing an audacious plan to annex a vast 460,000 square mile chunk of the frozen and ice-encrusted Arctic. ! [! j' E1 J  o3 A, y

' K+ U" Q' p  E) @9 G3 crs238848.rs.hosteurope.deAccording to Russian scientists, there is new evidence backing Russia's claim that its northern Arctic region is directly linked to the North Pole via an underwater shelf.
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) ?1 L: P  P! L5 r- ?rs238848.rs.hosteurope.deUnder international law, no country owns the North Pole. Instead, the five surrounding Arctic states, Russia, the US, Canada, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland), are limited to a 200-mile economic zone around their coasts. , O0 U0 o% f  N" E# r  E) t

1 E+ r, q- N* x" I7 OOn Monday, however, a group of Russian geologists returned from a six-week voyage on a nuclear icebreaker. They had travelled to the Lomonosov ridge, an underwater shelf in Russia's remote and inhospitable eastern Arctic Ocean.
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( ^# }% D+ y  ?' Brs238848.rs.hosteurope.deAccording to Russia's media, the geologists returned with the "sensational news" that the Lomonosov ridge was linked to Russian Federation territory, boosting Russia's claim over the oil-and-gas rich triangle. The territory contained 10bn tonnes of gas and oil deposits, the scientists said.# Q# F' y5 P5 W- e, _4 S
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Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper celebrated the discovery by printing a large map of the North Pole. It showed the new "addition" to Russia - the size of France, Germany and Italy combined - under a white, blue and red Russian flag.
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Yesterday, however, some scientists doubted whether Russia's latest Arctic grab stood up to scrutiny.
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% w6 B. u' N1 B5 |2 R$ STo extend a zone, a state has to prove that the structure of the continental shelf is similar to the geological structure within its territory. Under the current UN convention on the laws of the sea, no country's shelf extends to the North Pole. Instead, the International Seabed Authority administers the area around the pole as an international area.1 R& x# M7 z; {$ ^# J
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"Frankly I think it's a little bit strange," Sergey Priamikov, the international co-operation director of Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St Petersburg, told the Guardian. "Canada could make exactly the same claim. The Canadians could say that the Lomonosov ridge is part of the Canadian shelf, which means Russia should in fact belong to Canada, together with the whole of Eurasia."人在德国 社区7 k2 j! R5 b0 O$ @0 |, Z- b
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Mr Priamikov said the area was one of breathtaking natural beauty. It was much drier, colder and quieter than the western Arctic, he added. "I've been there many times. It's an oasis for marine life," he said. Asked whether it would be feasible to drill for oil, he said: "Yes"./ a5 c3 n5 [. o
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The shelf was 200 metres deep and oil and gas would be easy to extract, especially with ice melting because of global warming, he said.
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& N4 i- |0 ?/ p4 {2 jrs238848.rs.hosteurope.deRussia has the world's largest gas reserves. It is the second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia. The Kremlin is keen to secure Russia's long-term hegemony over global energy markets, and to find new sources of fuel.
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8 a! ^0 V! F3 E( X3 J$ ^- qRussia first made a submission in 2001 to the UN commission on the limits of the continental shelf, seeking to push Russia's maritime borders beyond the existing 200-mile zone. It was rejected.$ c# K+ a3 F' Q1 C" n" h" M

2 Y- v# U' {( Y/ S6 \人在德国 社区But the latest scientific findings are likely to prompt Russia to lodge another confident bid - and will alarm the US, which is mired in a 13-year debate over ratification of a UN treaty governing international maritime rights.
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, k2 n6 k. P9 |7 N人在德国 社区The Law of the Sea Treaty is the world's primary means of settling disputes over exploitation rights and navigational routes in international waters. Russia and 152 other countries have ratified it.rs238848.rs.hosteurope.de. Q" T1 `. B& q
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But the US has refused, arguing it gives too much power to the UN. If the US does not ratify it, Russia's bid for the Arctic's energy wealth will go unchallenged, proponents believe.