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Russia’s Flag on the Ocean Floor Has No Legal Standing, Casey Said
Putting a flag of Russia at the North Pole in a seabed doesn’t have any legal standing for Russia’s claim to extend the continental shelf under the terms of the Law of Sea Convention, U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey made clear, displaying the general skepticism of Washington in respect of the claim.
”I'm not sure whether they've - you know, put a metal flag, a rubber flag, or a bed sheet on the ocean floor. Either way, it doesn't have any legal standing or effect on this claim,” Casey told the reporters during the briefing.
The issue of whether certain underwater ridges really represent the outline of continental shelf of Russia is purely technical and will be decided by an international expert commission based on scientific data, Casey said.
”I don't think that under the Law of the Sea Treaty and certainly, not under the commission that's reviewing this, you know, whether they went and spray-painted a flag of Russia on those particular ridges is going to make one iota of difference in terms of the technical evaluation. It certainly, to us, doesn't represent any kind of substantive claim, and I certainly haven't heard anyone else make the argument that it does,” Casey pointed out.
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