Vladimir Putin has visited a chain of Arctic islands as part of Russia’s efforts to reaffirm its hold on the oil-rich region.

The Russian President arrived for the tour of the Franz Josef Land archipelago with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Speaking during the visit, he said: "Natural resources, which are of paramount importance for the Russian economy, are concentrated in this region."

The Arctic is thought to hold one-quarter of the planet's undiscovered oil and gas and is the subject of increasing rivalry between countries as the melting of the polar ice caps open up more of the region for exploration.

Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Arctic Pilots Glacier in Alexandra Land on the remote Arctic islands of Franz Josef Land Image: Mr Putin was accompanied by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu Image: The two Russian leaders also visited the 'Omega' field base in the Russian Arctic National Park. Continue through for more pictures /

The United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway have also tried to assert their claim over parts of the Arctic.


Mr Putin said current estimates suggest the value of the Arctic's mineral riches could be as much as $30 trillion and that protecting Russia's economic and security interests in the region were a priority.

He said Russia has remained open to a "broad partnership with other nations to carry out mutually beneficial projects in tapping natural resources, developing global transport corridors and also in science and environment protection".

The Russian military has recently built a new runway on the archipelago and has been working to establish a permanent base there.

In 2015 the country submitted a revised bid for part of the Arctic to the United Nations, claiming over 463,000 square miles of sea shelf extending 350 nautical miles from the shore.

During the visit Putin met with ecologists ahead of the Artic Forum in Arkhangelsk, which is being held for the first time in three years, and visited a cavity in a glacier used by scientists to study permafrost.