In message to Russia, Chilean lawmakers meet in Antarctica to underline territorial claims

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Defense officials from Chile have convened a meeting at the bottom of the planet, a bid to bolster their territorial claims in Antarctica as tensions escalate over Russia’s maneuvers in the polar region. Lawmakers from Chile’s parliamentary defense committee flew Thursday to a desolate air base for a meeting billed as an assertion of national sovereignty. The meeting comes amid a recent frenzy of media reports surrounding Russia’s purported discovery of massive oil reserves in Antarctica back in 2020, when the Russian polar research vessel Alexander Karpinsky reportedly uncovered some 500 billions of barrels worth of crude oil. The issue resurfaced earlier this month in a U.K. parliamentary session.