[HIGHLIGHTS] Unilateral steps: how the United States is trying to expand the boundaries of the continental shelf, bypassing international law

Moscow does not recognize Washington’s expansion of the outer limits of the continental shelf, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The department emphasized that such unilateral steps by the United States do not comply with established international rules and procedures.

The United States announced new limits to its continental shelf last December. Washington did not submit a corresponding application to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, as other countries, including Russia, do in similar cases. “Such unilateral actions (USA - RT ) contradict the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and pose a threat to the integrity of the regime of both the convention itself and the area declared the “common heritage of mankind”