MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Russia has no territorial claims over Antarctica”

Russia's Novolazarevskya runway

A Russian first deputy prime minister said this week that Russia has no territorial claims to Antarctica, and will strictly abide by an international convention on the continent, reports Novosti agency.

"Russia is one of the participants of the Antarctic Treaty and the international convention clearly regulates activities here. These are basically two things - science and transportation" said Sergei Ivanov, who arrived in Antarctica last Tuesday. The use of Antarctica is currently governed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which bans sovereignty claims to the continent. Ivanov also said that "Russia will strictly abide by these agreements and has no plans to initiate any territorial claims." "We share the same position as the United States - Antarctica is the property of the whole of mankind and only scientific research experiments should be held here," Ivanov added. Russia has, however, recently been active in the Arctic, where last year two mini-subs made a symbolic eight-hour dive beneath the North Pole to bolster the country's claim to a large swathe of seabed believed to be rich in oil and gas. Sergei Ivanov's trip is the first high-profile Russian visit to the ice-covered continent, where several countries, including Russia, have scientific research bases. The minister, accompanied by the transportation and natural resources ministers and other senior officials, inspected a runway carved out of ice at Russia's Novolazarevskya polar station - one of five year-round research facilities Russia runs in Antarctica - and talked to researchers. Ivanov, a former Russian defense minister, also said that the government would gradually increase spending to support Russians living and working in Antarctica. "Russia's financing of spending in Antarctica is gradually increasing as nobody in their right mind could imagine Arctic or Antarctica without Russia's participation," he said. During his visit, Ivanov is also expected to check the work of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) in cold weather conditions. Glonass is Russia's equivalent to the U.S. GPS system. Designed for both military and civilian use, the system allows users to identify their positions in real time. "Despite all the difficulties, Glonass is making sure progress and will soon reach Polar workers," Ivanov said. Earlier this year, Ivanov criticized Glonass' operational shortcomings, saying the satellite cluster did not provide 100% accessibility to Glonass services throughout Russia's territory, and that precision levels failed to meet modern requirements.