The United States invited the Russian delegation to the conference on the Arctic

The Russian delegation was invited to the international conference on cooperation in the Arctic, which is scheduled for the end of August in the US Anchorage.

“Russia received an invitation. The delegation of Russian experts will be headed by Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak, ”said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In early August, Russia submitted to the UN an application to expand the boundaries of the continental shelf in the Arctic by joining the Lomonosov and Mendeleev ridges (this section of the shelf is rich in hydrocarbons). In addition to Russia, Denmark, Canada, Norway and the United States claim the territory under the Arctic Ocean.

Earlier, the application, which also concerned a site in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, was rejected by the UN Commission due to lack of information. Later, Russia was able to obtain a plot on the shelf of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk with an area of ​​52 thousand square meters. km. Dmitry Medvedev on August 22 signed a decree fixing the Russian border on the continental shelf of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The US administration, in turn, issued a final permit to Royal Dutch Shell on August 18 to drill in the Arctic with the aim of prospecting for oil and gas. Shell has spent about $ 20 billion on exploration in the region. The US government estimates that the Arctic contains XNUMX% of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves.

The conference will take place in Anchorage, Alaska on August 30–31.