By
Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The territorial dispute between Denmark and Canada over a barren, uninhabited island in the Arctic came to an end Tuesday, when the two countries agreed to divide up the small territory.
Under the deal, a border will be drawn across the half-square-mile (1.3-square-kilometre) Hans Island, located between the northwest coast of Greenland — a semi-autonomous Danish territory — and the Canadian island of Ellesmere.
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The island has no known valuable mineral resources.
The agreement means that Canada now has a land border with Europe.
"It sends a clear signal that border disputes can be resolved ... in a pragmatic and peaceful way, in which all parties win," Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said.
He assured that it was "an important signal at this time when there is a lot of war and unrest in the world."
A decades-long dispute between Denmark and Canada over a small, barren, uninhabited rock in the Arctic has come to an end.AP
In 1973, Canada and Denmark agreed to create a border across the Nares Strait, midway between Greenland and Canada, but could not agree on which country would have sovereignty over Hans Island, located about 680 miles (1,100 kilometers) south of the North Pole.
In the end, they decided to settle the ownership issue later.
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In the years that followed, the turf dispute, which the media dubbed the "Whiskey War," resurfaced multiple times.
In 1984, the Danish minister for Greenland affairs hoisted a Danish flag on the island, buried a bottle of Danish brandy at the base of the flagpole, and left a note that read: "Welcome to the Danish island."
So the Canadians put up their own flag and left behind a bottle of Canadian brandy.
Since then, countries have taken turns raising their flags and laying down bottles of various alcoholic beverages in a kind of battle.
“It's a win for Canada.
This is a victory for Denmark,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.
The foreign ministers also exchanged bottles of whiskey.
The agreement will enter into force once the internal procedures of both countries are completed.