..with Iceland anf Greenland..an Union like that which is now in the making will obscure all other unions like Eu, M.E union, China-Japan union..etc..
"The Arctic has captured the attention of all the major world powers, and Russia is no exception. Growing interest in the Arctic has been driven by the recent spike in energy prices, which makes developing energy resources in hard-to-reach areas increasingly lucrative. Onshore mineral resources are being depleted, and the Arctic will soon become the worlds only untapped reserve. Consequently, no contender for the North Poles resources is likely to give up without a struggle."
"The potential is enormous: the Arctic is said to contain up to 500bn barrels of oil, huge gas reserves and significant deposits of diamonds, nickel, tin and gold. Researchers are hurrying to update estimates of the Arctics ice-locked riches. Science magazine recently published a detailed map of the regions oil and gas deposits, which is the result of a comprehensive five-year study conducted by Donald Gautier of the US Geological Survey. According to the study, the Arctic holds 30pc of the worlds undiscovered gas and about 13pc of oil. Most of the oil reserves lie within the state of Alaska, in the United States, while the gas is concentrated in Russian territory."
"Russian experts point out that ongoing exploration of the Arctic reserves will soon reveal new facts that could dramatically change the whole North Pole picture. It is now clear that the Arctic holds extensive reserves of natural gas and gas hydrate (gas-rich ice)."
"The five nations with legitimate claims on Arctic territory are trying to define the intraregional boundaries through international legal means and negotiations.
"If they fail to reach an agreement [establish their Union], the region risks falling prey to the ambitions of many non-Arctic countries who could feel free to request open access to Arctic wealth.
"The regions future will depend on which of the two strategies that of national self-interest and confrontation, or one of mutual benefit [and Union] will finally prevail.
"The most pragmatic assumption is that Russia, the US, Canada and other Arctic nations should come up with a joint comprehensive strategy [and political Union = A.P.U, APU] for sustainable use of the regions resources."
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14970