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This R&D provides information on claims made to the Arctic region.  The region is thought to be rich in oil and natural gas deposits and nations that border the Arctic (the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark – via Greenland) are prohibited under international law from laying claim to the North Pole and its surrounding areas.  However, as it becomes easier to navigate some of the ice sheets in the region, some experts believe that the international truce over the area will not hold.  In 2007, a Russian submersible planted a Russian flag on the seabed of the North Pole.