Norway has called on Canada to settle its disputes with Russia in an attempt to decrease tensions over sovereignty in the Far North. The recommendation has come after a maritime delimitation was signed by Russia and Norway this week, ending a 40-year disagreement between the two nations and allowing for new trade routes and the exploration of natural resources.
According to Jonas Gahr Store, Norway’s Foreign Minister, several countries with Arctic interests, including Canada, have approached Norway for advice on how to negotiate with Russia. Lawrence Cannon, the Canadian Foreign Minister, also held talks with Russian officials in Moscow earlier this week.
“Minister Cannon has shown a keen interest in this process since before we concluded this agreement,” Store said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The once-impenetrable Arctic Ocean has become of great interest to surrounding nations since significant ice melting opened up the prospect of tapping into the vast oil and natural gas deposits in the region. Both Norway and Russia have been proactive in pursuing an agreement, while Canada is widely perceived to be dragging its feet on the issue.
“Everyone else is sorting out their differences, we really are the laggards,” Professor Michael Byers, global politics and international law chair at the University of British Columbia, told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. He added that Canada could come to an arrangement over their territorial claims if they approach the matter seriously over the next two years.
“This will be decided purely on the basis of the geology and international law,” Byers told Canada’s online news site The Star. “The Law of the Sea Convention has incredibly detailed provisions that are entirely science-based.”
Minister Store has suggested that Russia and Canada should try to negotiate for themselves after both nations sought the help of the UN to settle their territory dispute. “This is the way to go. I’m certain that Canada and Russia, being Arctic coastal states, have real steps to explore on a number of areas,” he said.
Historical precedence should be the decisive factor.
The country previously possessing the ‘pink bits’ should have all rights : )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_British_Empire.png
This is an easy problem for Canada to rig in their favor.
Just to their south is the American version of the Titanic going under. All Canada has to do is recruit American survivalist-types to homestead Nunavut, Northwest Territory, and Yukon. Allow them dual citizenship if they want but, make it easy! The farther north they can homestead, the more subsidies they will receive. The government can even help finance more bush pilots and supply lines to those remote places. All to help Canada to reinforce its claim all the way to Ellesmere Island.
Then Canada can make rightful claims within the longitudinal lines that go north and converge on the pole. As for who gets the pole itself is a stupid argument. There’s nothing up there but unstable ice!
Oh good idea Denmark! By the way Denmark, who owns Hans Island?? Hypocrites at all?
[…] the original post: Norway urges Canada and Russia to forge Arctic agreement | IceNews … Share […]