The Danish Prime Minister will aim to strengthen the united front with Greenland on Thursday during a visit to the dominant territory that President Donald Trump has vowed to take over.
Tensions between the US and Denmark have skyrocketed since Trump repeatedly said he wanted to control the resource-rich Arctic Island for security reasons.
“From a sovereignty, borders and future perspective, it is clear that we need to continue to unite with pressure on Greenland by Americans,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen said Wednesday after arriving on the island for a three-day visit.
Fredericksen’s visit comes just after a trip last week by US Vice President J.D. Vance, which both Nuke and Copenhagen deemed a provocation.
It also follows the establishment of a new Greenland Union government led by the Central Right Democrats, which won the general election in March.
“I have one wish: to take care of this wonderful country and do everything I can to support it during difficult times,” Fredericksen said.
Observers say her visit will reassure the island of 57,000. The majority of them want to become independent from Denmark, but don’t want to be part of the US, according to polls.
“It’s so important and I think it’s very reassuring to see the Danish government head,” said Michaela Engel, an Arctic territory expert who previously served as Danish High Commissioner for Greenland.
Earlier this year, she said, “the Danish government was barely visible.” He explained that Copenhagen’s efforts were trying to respond to our interests, not to oppose Trump.
But after the general election and Vance’s visit, “the gloves were removed,” Engel said.
Marc Jacobsen, a researcher at Royal Danish College of Defense, told AFP that the visit “can speak to Denmark from a specific cooperative investment perspective, both in terms of how to respond to the US, about what is more specific to show consistency and support.”
Elephant in the room
Fredericksen is also expected to maintain the position previously set out by the Danish Foreign Minister under the 1951 defense agreement that “it is possible to strengthen the existence of the US military.”
On a visit to Pituffik military base last week, Vance accused Denmark of “not doing a good job by the people of Greenland,” allegedly invested in security.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rocke Rasmussen responded in a social media post, “We are open to criticism, but to be completely honest, we are not grateful for the tone it is being delivered.”
The Danish Foreign Ministry said efforts were underway to establish a meeting with Rocque and his US Marco Rubio at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels this week, but “there are no plans to discuss either Greenland or the Arctic.”
“It would be the elephant in the room, right?” Jacobsen said.
“But if they talk about the Arctic and Greenland, then there should be someone from the Greenland government. That’s an agreement between Denmark and Greenland,” he said.
According to the Washington Post, the White House currently estimates the costs of the US federal government managing Greenland and the potential revenues that can be obtained from the use of largely undeveloped natural resources.
(Source: AFP)