RussiansLooks like the Russians want to hop into bed with Canadians on all fronts
Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - The Russian government described Canada as a potential partner - not a rival - in the international fight for the Arctic.
While urging closer co-operation with Canada, a senior diplomat said it's other countries making unwelcome forays over sovereignty in the region. Sergey Petrov singled out the European Union, which has opposed Canada's exclusive claim to the Northwest Passage, for excessive involvement.
With billions in potential resources buried in the region, he suggested that countries that actually have territory in the region should be working together.
"There are some outside players that want to be involved and they are putting some oil on the flame," Petrov, the Russian embassy's charge d'affaires, told a news conference Tuesday in Ottawa.
"It would be just five countries who would divide this quarter - or third - of world resources. Naturally, there are those who want to be a part of that.
"It's not in the interests of Canada - but that's for your government to decide - and it's not in the interests of Russia to allow any other outside players to be part of this system."
Canada, the U.S., Norway, Denmark and Russia have agreed to abide by international law while scientists map the Arctic seabed. Petrov said it should be those scientists, not politicians, who sort out competing claims.
Instead of arguing, he said, Canada and Russia would be better off combining their efforts on improving transportation, infrastructure, and the condition of Inuit people in the region.
Pooling resources would make it more affordable, Petrov said, to develop the frigid region.
"It would be wise for us to act collectively to deal with these challenges that the Arctic puts in front of us. ... It would be cheaper for us," he said.
"There are a lot of things ... we can do collectively. ...
"Combining our efforts we can serve like a bridge between the American continent and Asian-European continent."
Canada and Russia launched a diplomatic skirmish after a team of researchers planted a Russian flag beneath the North Pole in 2007.
At the time, Defence Minister Peter MacKay sneered that countries couldn't go around planting flags and claiming territory like they did in the 15th century.
But Petrov denied the move was a sovereignty exercise and pointed out that the scientific team included non-Russians.
He described the controversy as overblown.
"It's very cold there (in the Arctic) - but it became a hot potato for everybody."
Petrov said everyone's talking about Arctic sovereignty these days, but few people are pointing out how difficult it would be to extract resources buried beneath the ice and permafrost.
He predicted that even his children's generation would not see anything extracted from the deeper parts of the ocean floor.
Very few exploitable patches remain in dispute, he said