COPENHAGEN — America, Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark, the countries bordering the Arctic Ocean, pledged to honor international law and work to reduce tension as they all seek ownership of natural resources in North Pole waters.

The five countries will work for an “orderly settlement” of their claims, their governments said in a joint declaration after concluding a two-day summit in Ilulissat, Greenland.

“We’re sending a signal to local populations and the rest of the world that we will act responsibly,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Per Stig Moeller, said in a statement. “Hopefully we will once and for all kill the myth that there’s a ‘race for the North Pole’ going on.”

The area of the Arctic shelf may hold 10 billion tons of oil equivalent, as well as gold, nickel, and diamonds, according to Russia. A Russian mini submarine planted a flag beneath the polar cap in August, a move the Danish Science Minister, Helge Sander, at the time called a “joke.” Canada responded by saying it would move troops to its north to assert Arctic sovereignty.

The meeting was attending by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, Gary Lunn, and foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia, Jonas Gahr Stoere of Norway, as well as Mr. Moeller of Denmark. The Danish claim to North Pole waters is linked to its semi-autonomous territory of Greenland, whose Prime Minister, Hans Enoksen, also attended.