| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
On 9 December 2013 Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird announced that Ottawa was deferring its expected submission to an obscure UN commission with regard to mineral rights on and below parts of the Arctic Ocean seabed to ensure that the eventual submission 'includes Canada's claim to the North Pole'. According to Canadian media reports, the claim that had been prepared for submission by scientists and civil servants did not include the pole, and was therefore vetoed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his defence ministry, in televised remarks, to 'devote special attention to deploying infrastructure and military units in the Arctic' - a statement widely interpreted as a direct response to the Canadian action.
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