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Countries discuss Arctic claims

Summary

22 September 2010

Politicians and experts from around the world are meeting in Moscow to discuss who will control the large reserves of oil and gas thought to lie under the Arctic Sea.

Reporter

Steve Rosenberg

Report

As temperatures rise and the polar ice caps melt, the race is on to unlock the treasures of the Arctic.

This region is thought to contain one quarter of the world's untapped oil and gas reserves, and there's stiff competition for them. America, Canada, Denmark and Norway have all staked territorial claims in the Arctic, and so has Russia.

Three years ago, a Russian expedition planted a titanium flag on the ocean floor beneath the North Pole. It was a symbol of Moscow's determination to protect what it sees as its national interest.

In Moscow this week scientists, businessmen and politicians from Arctic nations will discuss co-operation, but they're also expected to push their countries' claims in the region.

Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow