MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - The results of Russia's expedition to the North Pole - Arctic-2007 - should be used as the basis for Russia's position on property rights to the shelf, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Artur Chilingarov and Anatoly Sagalevich.

"As to the extension of our shelf: this of course should be discussed with colleagues, this should be proved at international organizations," Putin said. "It is necessary that results of your expedition serve as the grounds for Russia's position on these problems," the president added.

Putin congratulated the leaders and members of the expedition on its successful completion and outstanding results. "The work was very interesting, very weighty, very important for the country, and dangerous," he said. "This is a great breakthrough for science and the people who took part in it," the president said.