Russian Flag Reached Arctic Seabed

In 2007, Russia planted its national flag on the Arctic seabed in hopes of strengthening its claim to the region's potential natural resources. On August 2, two Russian mini-submarines descended more than 4 kilometers beneath the North Pole and installed a rustproof titanium flag on the ocean floor. Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay rejected the gesture, saying, "This isn't the 15th century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say, 'We're claiming this territory.'"

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