Denmark’s Leaders Are Cautiously Optimistic About Trump’s Announcement Of A Greenland Deal

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s authorities was cautiously optimistic on Saturday about Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal on Greenland to bolster U.S. army presence there however hold the island below Danish management, following months of threats by the U.S. president to grab the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.

In Greenland, the Arctic island’s high leaders echoed that stance and stated the deal had been lengthy in coming.

Trump stated on Friday that the settlement would give the United States “everlasting management over safety, and all different wants, in Greenland, utterly addressing ALL of our many U.S. issues.”

Denmark and the U.S. have already got a long-standing safety settlement that has allowed the U.S. to deploy forces in Greenland, and it was not instantly clear how this deal was totally different from that.

After Trump’s announcement Friday, the workplace of Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, stated the deal can be signed by all three governments subsequent week throughout the United Nations General Assembly, however parliamentary motion continues to be wanted by the Danish and Greenland governments earlier than it may be enforced.

“Next week could possibly be an excellent week … for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States alike,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen wrote on Instagram Saturday morning.

“A interval of uncertainty will hopefully get replaced by a binding settlement that strengthens safety within the Arctic and the North Atlantic — and thus additionally our shared safety inside NATO and Europe — whereas respecting the Kingdom’s pink traces,” he added.

Greenland’s authorities chief Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated he was blissful in regards to the deal, which he stated “advantages not solely our collective safety, but additionally the continued improvement right here within the nation.”

The international minister of Greenland, Múte B. Egede, stated he was happy that “we now have an settlement inside attain.”

“It has taken a while,” he informed Denmark’s TV2 broadcaster. “I’m happy that we lastly have an finish product inside attain. And it’s about time.”

Trump stated that with the settlement, the U.S. would “instantly” start the method of growing a bigger army presence on the mineral-rich Danish territory.

The U.S. had lengthy held a number of bases and installations on the Arctic territory by the Cold War, earlier than dialing again its presence.

It nonetheless operates the distant Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, constructed after the U.S. and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland Treaty in 1951. It helps missile warning, missile protection and house surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.

A U.S. State Department official stated the settlement bans any non-NATO base in Greenland, limits adversaries from having the ability to make investments in Greenland, and ensures that China and Russia can’t have a base on the island. The official was not licensed to remark publicly and spoke on situation of anonymity.

Denmark and Greenland didn’t explicitly verify any of the specifics in Trump’s statements, nor did they supply particulars relating to the content material of the settlement or the rights and obligations of the events.

U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officers had quietly negotiated for months behind the scenes, trying to find options to deal with a few of Trump’s safety issues a few territory of roughly 56,000 residents.

With the announcement of the pact, Trump is ready to tout a international coverage achievement forward of the midterm elections within the U.S.

After his return to the White House, Trump had referred to as on Denmark to promote the island to the U.S., whereas insisting Greenland is crucial for U.S. security. He pointedly wouldn’t rule out taking the island by military force, despite the fact that Denmark is a NATO ally of the U.S.

Denmark and Greenland repeatedly stated the island will not be on the market and condemned reviews of the U.S. gathering intelligence there. The U.S. push for Greenland was additionally fiercely opposed by Russia and far of Europe.

Greenland grassroots pro-sovereignty activist Orla Joelsen wrote on X that “our battle in opposition to Trump’s ambition to take over Greenland has been gained.”

“The new settlement explicitly acknowledges the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Greenlandic folks’s proper to self-determination,” the activist added.

Grieshaber reported from Berlin.