NORWAY has stood back from potential conflict with other Arctic territorial claimants such as Russia by defining its continental shelf to end in deep waters 550km south of the North Pole.
Norway’s minister of foreign affairs, Jonas Gahr Stoere, said his country was the first Arctic state to exercise restraint in this regard despite the oil&gas potential of extreme northern waters.
Norway has accepted adjustments by United Nations Law of the Sea Commission experts to a submission Oslo made in 2006 and will write the new limits into national law. However, while Norway has established boundaries with Iceland, the Faroes and Greenland, it still has undefined areas between itself and Russia – not least the Barents Sea.
Littoral Arctic states have until May 13 to complete their claims for sovereignty in the polar region.