The president of the United States, Donald Trump, assured this Wednesday that he “does not know who” the prime minister of Greenland is, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, a few hours after the meeting between his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the foreign ministers of the Arctic island and Denmark.
The statements came in a comment made to the press near Joint Base AndrewsTrump responded in this way to Nielsen’s positioning, which had reaffirmed Greenland’s preference for maintaining its relations with Denmark and not with the United States. Trump stated: “That’s his problem. I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know anything about him, but that’s going to be a big problem for him.”
Firm position of Greenland and Denmark
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, accompanied by the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksenhas been emphatic in defending that Greenland does not want to be part of the United States and reaffirmed that the island prefers to remain under the framework of the Kingdom of Denmark and within the NATO. At a joint conference, Nielsen stated that if Greenland had to choose between the United States and Denmark, “we choose Denmark, NATO and the European Union”.
The Greenlandic authorities have stressed that they are not for sale and that its defense must be organized through the Atlantic alliance, rejecting any attempt at unilateral acquisition by Washington.
The exchange of statements occurs just before a series of diplomatic meetings scheduled in Washingtonwhere the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will meet senior US officials, including the vice president J.D. Vance and the secretary of state Marco Rubio. The stated objective of these meetings is discuss the situation in the Arctic and reduce the tension generated by recent statements from Washington.
The island of Greenland has considerable geostrategic value due to its location in the Arctic and its natural resources. The US administration has insisted that controlling the island is crucial to national security in the face of the alleged threat of a greater presence of Russia or China in the region, although these claims have been described as exaggerated by experts and allied governments.
The tensions have raised concerns within the Atlantic alliance. The joint position of Denmark and Greenland has received support from several European states, which reiterate that territorial changes must respect the international law and the sovereignty of the peoples involved. Not the explicit support of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has limited himself to stating that the military organization’s commitment to the Arctic island must be increased.
