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Russian border patrol ships halt Arctic patrols over bad weather

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PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - The federal border service has suspended sea patrols in the eastern part of Russia's Arctic sector due to adverse weather conditions, a service spokesman said on Monday.

He said air patrols would continue to monitor the region.

"The Volga border patrol ship, which replaced the Anadyr vessel, has returned to port," the spokesman said.

He said Russia had only resumed sea and air patrols in the area halfway through the year after a long hiatus.

Russia has recently 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 irked 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.

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.

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