US: Russia's Arctic marking has no international legal significance

WASHINGTON, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. State Department said on Friday that if Russia passes a new law defining its Arctic boundaries, this will have purely domestic consequences and no international legal significance.
"Arctic nations use different criteria for defining the portions of their territory considered to be part of their Arctic regions. The definitions are generally for the purpose of internal administration and have no standing in international law," the statement said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that his country's competitiveness on global markets depended on Arctic resources and stressed the need to adopt a law establishing the frontiers of Russia's Arctic zone. (continues here)

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