"I will say it outright- we [Russia] will not give the Arctic shelf to anybody else... Canada or the United States may not like this... but this is my stance. It is historically our [Russian] shelf," Artur Chilingarov told journalists.
Russia has undertaken two Arctic expeditions - to the Mendeleyev underwater chain in 2005 and to the Lomonosov ridge in the summer of 2007 - to support its claims to the region. Moscow has pledged to submit documentary evidence to the UN on the external boundaries of Russia's territorial shelf in 2009.
The move irritated a number of Western countries, particularly the U.S. and Canada. Under international law, these Arctic Circle countries, as well as Denmark, Norway and Russia, each currently have a 322-km (200-mile) economic zone in the Arctic Ocean.
The lawmaker also said that Russia would continue scientific exploration of the Arctic shelf irrespective of the consequences of the current global financial crisis.
"The research will continue independently from the economic situation, because this is our future. The state will take a more active part in this," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for a new Arctic frontier law on September 19. Some Western media outlets linked the move to Russia's claim to a large part of the Arctic, believed to be rich in oil and gas.
