Canada and Denmark share Hans Island in the Arctic – Corriere.it

For half a century, Canada and Denmark fought over a rocky, uninhabited and inhospitable island in the Arctic.So small – 1.2 square kilometers – that it’s hard to even spot it on maps. Hans Island is located a thousand kilometers from the North Pole, in the Kennedy Channel, a sea passage that forms part of the Nares Strait and lies between the northern tip of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, and the Canadian island of Ellesmere. No plants and animals, In Ottawa and Copenhagen only the long struggling stones and ice – and not always in a polite way, writes The Washington Post – Because the sovereign on the island, exactly 18 kilometers from both coasts, gets the right to navigate the channel, which does not freeze for a few days of the year, but which is increasing due to climate change. Related submarine rights. Apart from the presence of many glaciers in the canal, it is impossible to extract natural resources – gas or oil. He explained that it would be a very expensive oil The New York Times Arctic expert Michael Byers. If we had drilled that deep for 10 years, we would have lost the battle against climate change.

Despite this, the challenge between the two countries continued for a long time, with continuous blows exchanged. It all started in 1973When Danish and Canadian diplomats traversed the Arctic’s maritime boundaries through the island: not finding an agreement, They decided to leave the matter unresolved, will multiply in a few years. Versions differ—they sometimes assign the first mover to one country, sometimes to another—but the most authoritative one prefers it. The crisis was caused by Canada, which sparked the Whiskey or Flag War, Hans plants a red and white with a maple leaf on the island and leaves behind a bottle of Canadian whiskey. The Greenland minister in Copenhagen responded with his own flag, a bottle of aquavit — a Scandinavian brandy — and a letter welcoming the Danish island. You start from there A silent and ironic war, fought mostly with flags and alcohol – they were sent back to their respective countries or drunk – but also for advertising on Google. Episodes occurred in 1988, 1995, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Then, in 2005, then A walk on the island by Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham This angered the Danish government, and the two rivals decided to start a peace process. Now, 17 years later, Canada and Denmark have finally reached an agreement — 26 foreign ministers have served in the past, and interested parties laughed — to close what Canadian Foreign Minister Mlanie Joly defined. The friendliest of all wars: 60% of Hans Island would go to Denmark, while the rest of Canada would gain a small kilometer of land border with Europe. The deal must now be voted on by both parliaments, but An encouraging sign at this time of great international tension. “While we are here, we are witnessing major violations of international law in other parts of the world,” Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said, with a clear reference to the invasion of Ukraine. Before finally exchanging a bottle with the other party. Instead, we showed that even protracted international disputes can be resolved peacefully, respecting the rules.