The five nations bordering the Arctic Ocean -Canada, Denmark, Norway,
Russia and the United States- kick off talks in Greenland in an effort to end
squabbling over ownership of huge tracts of the Arctic seabed and  avert a
free-for-all of the region's natural resources. 

ILIMANAQ, GREENLAND (MAY 27, 2008)REUTERS -
 Representatives from five Arctic countries met in Greenland on
Wednesday (May 28) to discuss sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean, which could
hold up to one-quarter of the world's undiscovered oil reserves. 
    Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States are squabbling
over huge tracts of the Arctic seabed and Denmark has called them together for
talks in its self-governing province to avert a free-for-all of the region's
natural resources. 
    Arriving for the meeting, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store
called on the global community to take more action on global warming.
    "I think we share broad agreements on the need to pay great
attention to the vulnerable environment in the north. That we really have to
take what is happening here as an alarming message of climate change which has
to bring more action on a global level on the climate change issues," he
said.  
    Environmental issues will play a great role in the discussions. 
    Greenland Prime Minister Hans Enoksen said the international community
should learn from the way his people lived for thousands of years. "I
like to stress that my kind has been living and surviving in the Arctic for
thousands of years. People have survived the harsh Arctic climate by
adaptation skills, expertise and knowledge. So we appeal to the international
community to acknowledge, learn and benefit from that."
    Denmark has urged all involved to abide by United Nations rules on
territorial claims and hopes to sign a declaration where the United Nations
would rule on any disputes. 
    Environmental groups have criticised the scramble for the Arctic. They
saying it will damage unique animal habitats there and have called for a
treaty similar to that regulating the Antarctic, which bans military activity
and mineral mining. 
    The five nations plan to discuss not only territorial claims, but also
cooperation over accidents, maritime security and oil spills. Moller said that
as the ice sheet shrinks, icebergs will form and pose serious threats to
shipping.  
   Russia angered other Arctic countries last year by planting a flag on
the seabed under the North Pole in a headline-grabbing gesture that some
criticised as a stunt. 
   Lavrov on Tuesday compared the incident to the U.S. lunar landings in
the 1960's and 1970's. 
    Countries around the Arctic Ocean are rushing to stake claims on the
oil and gas-rich Polar Basin seabed - made more attractive by rising energy
prices - and have taken their arguments to the United Nations. 
    Resolving territorial disputes in the Arctic has gained urgency because
scientists believe rising temperatures could leave most of the Arctic ice-free
in summer months in a few decades' time. 
    This would improve drilling access and open up the Northwest Passage, a
route through the Arctic Ocean linking the Atlantic and Pacific that would
reduce the sea journey from New York to Singapore by thousands of miles. 
    Under the 1982 U.N. Law of the Sea Convention, coastal states own the
seabed beyond existing 200 nautical mile (370 km) zones if it is part of a
continental shelf of shallower waters. 
    While the rules aim to fix shelves' outer limits on a clear geological
basis, they have created a tangle of overlapping Arctic claims.