U.S. Senator Lugar says Russia wants Arctic energy

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U.S. Senator Lugar says Russia wants Arctic energy reserves
11:49 | 16/ 05/ 2007



WASHINGTON, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar said Russia is aspiring to take control over potential energy reserves in the Arctic Ocean at the expense of U.S. interests.

The senator, known for his anti-Russian statements, urged the U.S. authorities to join the struggle for the polar oil and gas resources by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The issue has acquired importance in view of dwindling global energy resources. Experts forecast that oil reserves on land would soon be exhausted and the only available fields will be in Persian Gulf and on deep sea shelves.

Lugar said Russia had claimed the right to develop the reserves, which could become more accessible due to ice melting in climate change. The Russian government is expected to meet this week to discuss hydrocarbon production on the sea.

The U.S. parliamentarian's warnings followed a statement by President George W. Bush Tuesday, which called on the Senate to ratify the convention.

Lugar said the convention had been adopted in Cold War times to protect national interests against the Soviet Union and aggressively developing countries. If ratified, the document will grant Washington control over the vast energy and fish wealth lying 200 miles off the American coast, he said.