”One hundred years ago, Spitsbergen along with its islands and Bear Island were incorporated in our free, independent and indivisible kingdom. Therefore, we are here to celebrate,” Crown Prince Haakon said in an address delivered at the town square of Longyearbyen.
Haakon visited Svalbard for the first time when he was only 7-years-old and has since been to the archipelago many times.
”Svalbard has always had a special place in my heart,” he emphasised. The Svalbard Treaty was signed in 1920. Five years later, on August 25, 1925, it came into force and the archipelago officially became part of Norway.
”Norway has exercised its authority in Svalbard consistently and predictably for 100 years,” Prime Minister Støre emphasised in a speech. […]
But not everyone is happy with the Norwegian rule over Svalbard. On the day before the celebrations in Longyearbyen, the Russian foreign ministry lashed out against the Norwegians.
In its weekly press conference, foreign ministry spokesperson Aleksei Fadeev accused Oslo of ’anti-Russian discrimination,’ ’militarisation,’ and ’violation of the Svalbard Treaty. Läs artikel