Greenland should ‘take the lead’ in talks with US, foreign minister says
Greenland’s foreign minister has said the Greenlandic government should “take the lead” in planned talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the United States continues to threaten to take over the autonomous Danish territory.
“When it comes to Greenland, it should be Greenland that takes the lead and speaks with the United States,” Vivian Motzfeldt said on Friday, according to Danish broadcaster DR.
She said the Greenlandic government should be able to engage in dialogue with other countries independently of Denmark.
“What would be wrong with us holding meetings with the United States on our own? I assume that we [Denmark and Greenland] share certain common values and policies that both countries stand by,” Motzfeldt said.
Asked if she would prefer to hold next week’s meeting with Rubio without her Danish counterpart, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Motzfeldt refused to comment and stressed that the talks will be held jointly.
“Greenland has been working toward statehood, which would require us to conduct our own foreign policy. But we are not there yet. Until then, we have certain laws and frameworks that we must follow,” she said.
The planned discussions come as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take over Greenland – a self-governing territory of Denmark – in remarks that have roiled European leaders.
Trump has hailed the island’s “strategic” importance in the Arctic region and accused the Danish authorities of failing to adequately secure the waters around Greenland – a claim rejected by local politicians.
On Friday, he claimed the US needed to take over Greenland to prevent Russia or China occupying it.
“We don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland, which – if we don’t take Greenland – you’re going to have Russia or China as your next-door neighbour. That’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” he added.
Recent US attacks on Venezuela and the abduction of the South American country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, have spurred heightened concerns around what Trump may be planning for Greenland.
Future of NATO
Rubio held talks with NATO chief Mark Rutte on Friday as the transatlantic military alliance has sought to deflect Washington’s interest in Greenland by emphasising efforts to boost security in the Arctic.
A NATO spokesperson said Rutte spoke with Rubio “on the importance of the Arctic to our shared security and how NATO is working to enhance our capabilities in the High North”.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an armed US attack to take Greenland could spell the end for NATO.
