In 1825 diplomats representing Russia and Great Britain met in St. Petersburg to resolve several navigational, commercial and territorial matters in dispute on the North West coast of North America and in particular, the immediate problem of the rich fur resources of the area. They signed a treaty defining the boundary between the Russian colony of Alaska and adjacent British territory and thus avoided conflict between the two imperial powers. Although many of its terms had to be renegotiated later, the treaty subsequently helped to delimit Canada's claim to British Columbia, the Yukon and the Arctic archipelago.