The Norwegian government has rejected a proposal calling for its northern border to be redrawn to gift Finland with a mountain peak for its 100th independence anniversary.
The initiative to shift the border so the peak of Mount Halti, currently in Norwegian territory, would become Finnish, was proposed by the Kajord municipality in the Finnmark region of northernmost Norway and had garnered huge support on social media.
However, a letter from Prime Minister Erna Solberg to the Mayor of Kajford Svein O. Leiros published on Saturday said "the alteration of borders between countries causes too many judicial problems that could affect, for example, the Constitution".
Halti, the majority of which is actually in Finland, is already the country's highest point at 1324 metres.
However the mountain's highest peak lies just over the border in Norway, standing at 1361 m.
The petition sought to gift the peak to Finland in 2017, on the 100th anniversary of the country's independence from Russia.
Solberg appreciated that the petition sparked a national dialogue but suggested the country find a more appropriate way to honour their neighbour's independence.
Undeterred however, Leiros told Norwegian public television NRK he thought the idea was such a good one they would analyse the possibility of trying it again.
Geologist Bjorn Geirr, a supporter of the cause, said they would not take 'no' for an answer, adding that he thought the government had not fully understood the idea, considering the border only needed to be moved a few dozen metres.
