(Newser)
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In the latest audacious claim by Russia, the nation is insisting that rock samples taken 13,000 feet beneath the North Pole prove that a large part of the Arctic seabed is rightfully Russian territory. The US, Canada, Norway and Denmark also have territorial claims to the mineral-rich area that's becoming increasingly accessible as the ice cap melts.
Last month the crew of a Russian mini-sub planted an underwater flag claiming the area. Officials now say that rock from the large Lomonosov Ridge area of the Arctic prove it's contiguous to Russian land, and plan to submit the evidence to the United Nations. Samples "confirm the ridge is part of the adjoining continental shelf of the Russian Federation," said a Kremlin statement.
