ILULISSAT, Greenland – – Representatives of the five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean meet in Greenland on Wednesday to discuss the impact of climate change on the icy region — and how to divide up its as-yet untapped rich resources. The summit is the first to be held at the ministerial level between the five countries. It is aimed at easing recent tensions as they each seek to extend their sovereignty to the Arctic waters that could hold 25 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas, according to the US Geological Survey. Russia, Norway and Denmark will be represented at the meeting in Ilulissat in western Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, by their foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov, Jonas Gahr Stoere and Per Stig Moeller respectively. The United States will be represented by its deputy foreign policy chief John Negroponte, and Canada by its Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn. The initiative for the summit was taken by Denmark and the head of the local Greenland government, Hans Enoksen. The five countries ‘want to cooperate on the basis of international law and use scientific data when making decisions about territory,’ Lavrov told reporters in […]