Greenland hosts Arctic sovereignty talks

By Kim McLaughlin

ILULISSAT, Greenland, May 27 (Reuters) - Senior officials from five Arctic countries met in Greenland on Tuesday to discuss sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean, which could hold up to one-quarter of the world's undiscovered oil reserves.

Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States are squabbling over huge tracts of the Arctic seabed and Denmark has called them together for talks in its self-governing province to avert a free-for-all for the region's natural resources.

"We need to send a common political signal to both our own populations and the rest of the world that the five coastal states will address the opportunities and challenges in a responsible manner", Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller told reporters.

"Climate change is a fact of the Arctic. The ice is melting and transport routes and natural resources which used to be inaccessible are opening up," Moller said.

Moller and Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen will meet the Norwegian and Russian foreign ministers, Jonas Gahr Stoere and Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Canadian Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn at the two-day conference in the town of Ilulissat.

Denmark has urged all involved to abide by United Nations rules on territorial claims and hopes to sign a declaration that the United Nations would rule on any disputes.

Environmental groups have criticised the scramble for the Arctic, saying it will damage unique animal habitats, and have called for a treaty similar to that regulating the Antarctic, which bans military activity and mineral mining.

The five nations plan to discuss not only territorial claims, but also cooperation over accidents, maritime security and oil spills. Moller said that as the ice sheet shrinks, icebergs will form and pose serious threats to shipping.