Russia ready for dialogue on Arctic shelf - Putin

Russia is ready for the dialogue with other countries on the problem of the Arctic shelf, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday. He was speaking at the first meeting of the Council of the national geographic society. Putin stressed that all Russia's activities in the Arctic region including the planting of the national flag on the bottom of Arctic Ocean in 2007 were in line with international law.

The Arctic shelf is rich with oil and gas recourses and besides Russia also the US, Canada, Norway and Denmark are laying claims to develop the area. The Russian scientists say that the Lomonosov and Mendeleev underwater ranges in the Arctic Ocean belong to Russia.