Denmark claims North Pole via Greenland ridge link

Scientific data shows Greenland's continental shelf is connected to a ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean, giving Danes a claim to the North Pole and any potential energy resources beneath it, Denmark's foreign minister said.
     
Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard said Denmark will deliver a claim on Monday to a United Nations panel in New York that will eventually decide control of the area, which Russia and Canada are also coveting.
     
The five Arctic countries - the United States, Russia, Norway, Canada and Denmark - all have areas surrounding the North Pole, but only Canada and Russia had indicated an interest in it before Denmark's claim.
     
Lidegaard told the AP that the Arctic nations so far "have stuck to the rules of the game" and he hoped they would continue to do so.
     
In 2008, the five pledged that control of the North Pole region would be decided in an orderly settlement in the framework of the United Nations, and possible overlapping claims would be dealt with bilaterally.
     
Interest in the Arctic is intensifying as global warming shrinks the polar ice, opening up possible resource development and new shipping lanes.
     
The area is believed to hold an estimated 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped gas.
     
Lidegaard said he expects no quick decisions, with other countries also sending in claims.
     
"This is a historical milestone for Denmark and many others as the area has an impact on the lives of lot of people. After the U.N. panel had taken a decision based on scientific data, comes a political process," Lidegaard told The Associated Press in an interview on Friday. "I expect this to take some time. An answer will come in a...