Russian President Vladimir Putin is making an astonishing bid to grab a vast chunk of the Arctic - so he can tap its vast potential oil, gas and mineral wealth. His 
scientists claim an underwater ridge near the North Pole is really part of Russia's continental shelf. One newspaper printed a map of the "new addition", a triangle five times the size of Britain with twice as much oil as Saudi Arabia. The dramatic move provoked an international outcry. The U.S. and Canada expressed shock and environment campaigners said it would be a disaster. Observers say the move is typical of Putin's muscle-flexing as he tries to increase Russian power. Under current international law, the countries ringing the Arctic - -Russia, Canada, the U.S., Norway, and Denmark (which owns Greenland) - are limited to a 200-mile economic zone around their coasts.
scientists claim an underwater ridge near the North Pole is really part of Russia's continental shelf. One newspaper printed a map of the "new addition", a triangle five times the size of Britain with twice as much oil as Saudi Arabia. The dramatic move provoked an international outcry. The U.S. and Canada expressed shock and environment campaigners said it would be a disaster. Observers say the move is typical of Putin's muscle-flexing as he tries to increase Russian power. Under current international law, the countries ringing the Arctic - -Russia, Canada, the U.S., Norway, and Denmark (which owns Greenland) - are limited to a 200-mile economic zone around their coasts. 
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