There is a treaty of some sort between the nations bordering the Artic keeping it neutral. There is a continental shelf provision that Russia started pursuing last year. I wouldn’t go investing tons of money in Las Vegas “Arctic Oil & Gas” just yet.
Russia sent a submarine to the North Pole sea bed and stuck a flag there, to claim it as Russia’s sole territory.
We in the U.S. pointed out that was done on the Moon’s surface back in 1969, and maybe Russia should reconsider their claim.
Alaska has Arctic Sea shoreline. We shouldn’t need any stinkin’ UN approval to drill for “avolla” derived petroleum.