Danish top diplomats met with representatives of the US National Security Council late on Thursday to discuss President Trump’s latest statements about his intention to “take over Greenland”. While Vice President JD Vance warned that Europeans should take Trump’s words seriously, influential Republicans have struck a more conciliatory tone.
Denmark’s Ambassador to the United States Jesper Møller Sørensen and Greenland’s head of representation to the US Jacob Isbosethsen met with President Trump advisors in Washington, reportedly to discuss Trump’s recent proclamations to “take over” or “purchase” Greenland. It was the first direct contact between Danish (Greenland’s) diplomats and US officials on that matter.
Take seriously… or not that much?
President Trump renewed his focus on Greenland just days after he had authorised a military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela. Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller swiftly announced that it was now the “policy” of the United States to acquire Greenland, questioning Denmark’s right to claim the territory. Later during the week, however, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump was interested in “buying Greenland” and downplayed the possibility of any forthcoming US military intervention to take the island by force.
Though several media outlets have reached out to the White House for comment about the Thursday meeting, no official information was provided. Individual statements by top US politicians are available, however, and these often contradict each other.
My advice to European leaders and anybody else would be to take the president of the United States seriously. – JD Vance, United States Vice President
US Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark and the rest of Europe of failing to protect Greenland from the intentions of Russia and China. “I guess my advice to European leaders and anybody else would be to take the president of the United States seriously,” Mr Vance told journalists.
Statement made by influential Republican Senator Roger Wicker after Thursday’s meeting sounded quite different. Mr Wicker, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that it is Denmark’s “prerogative and right” to refuse talks over the sale of the semiautonomous territory. Senator Wicker also argued that US should focus on other “great opportunities” to enhance the country’s relationship with Denmark and Greenland.
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United States should focus on other great opportunities to enhance the relationship with Denmark and Greenland. – Republican Senator Roger Wicker
Next week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark in Washington next week.
EU fully supports Denmark: Costa
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen vehemently protested against Mr Trump’s statements over the past days, calling on the President to stop threatening annexation. European Council President António Costa said that the EU fully supports Greenland and Denmark, without whose consent no decision can be made about their future.
Officials from Greenland and Denmark have made clear both publicly and privately that they will not even entertain conversions about any mechanism that could enable the sale of Greenland to the US, saying that a population cannot simply be purchased. Greenland is also not interested in a free-association agreement, the diplomats said.
Highly valued ice sheet
Greenland, with an area of more than 2.1 million square kilometers, is the world’s largest island and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. This vast and sparsely populated region (Greenland has only 60,000 inhabitants) has been so far mostly covered by glaciers.
Due to its remote location in the far North and difficult accessibility, world powers have long been uninterested in Greenland. However, this has been changing recently, also due to advancing global warming. Melting ice may soon open up rich reserves of raw materials that are not yet profitable to extract. The waters around Greenland may also become attractive for shipping.
The United States had offered to buy Greenland from Denmark shortly after World War II, but Copenhagen refused. Similar efforts are now emerging under the Trump administration.
Under an agreement with Denmark, the United States operates the Pituffik (formerly Thule) Military Base in northern Greenland. It is the largest US base outside the United States in terms of area.
