Alexander Bedritsky, the presidential adviser on climate change, says Russia is gathering additional data to support its claim on the polar region.
Russia, the United States. Canada, Denmark and Norway have all been trying to assert jurisdiction over parts of the Arctic region believed to contain as much as a quarter of the Earth's undiscovered oil and gas. Shrinking polar ice opens up new opportunities for the area's exploration.
Bedritsky and other officials at an Arctic forum opening Wednesday in Moscow said Arctic nations need to cooperate more closely and to settle disputes peacefully.
