Battle for Arctic oil intensifies as US sends Clinton to polar summit

WikiLeak cables show fears that Arctic resources rivalry could lead to military conflict between Nato and Russia.

Melting of the polar ice cap has made Arctic resources more accessible.

 

The US government has signalled a new determination to assert its role in Arctic oil and gas exploration by sending secretary of state Hillary Clinton and other ministers to a summit of the region’s powers for the first time. Clinton and the US secretary of the interior, Ken Salazar, were both at the biennial meeting in the Greenland capital of Nuuk amid fears by environmentalists of a “carve up” of Arctic resources that could savage a pristine environment.