No indication of Russian aggression in Arctic

While Russia has built up its military on itsside of the Arctic, there is no evidence of Russian aggression inthe region, a panel of U.S. national security experts said.

Julia Gourley, the senior Arctic official at the U.S. StateDepartment, saidThursdaythat it appears that Russia is preparingto protect its economic interests. All countries would do the same,she said during a briefing for congressional staff in Washington,D.C.

Russia has built or refurbished bases in the Arctic, constructednew airfields and built-out ports, the Alaska Public Radio Networkreported.

The country also has submitted to a United Nations commission aclaim for more territory in the Arctic based on the reach of itscontinental shelf. While the documents surrounding the claim aren'tpublic, the State Department doesn't consider the claim to beoutlandish, Gourley said.

"In determining its outer limits of the continental shelf, sofar there are no overlaps with the United States, from what we knowof its submission," she said.

The United States is mapping its continental shelf in the region.

Sherri Goodman, a former Pentagon official who is now athink-tank fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, saidthe United States should pay attention for any changes in the wayRussia operates in the Arctic.

"I agreed that today we are not facing those challenges in theArctic, with Russia," she said. "But we've got to operate up therewith eyes wide open."