Denmarks prime minister will aim to support a joined front with Greenland on Thursday during a see to the autonomous area, which US President Donald Trump has actually vowed to take over.Tensions in between the United States and Denmark have actually soared considering that Trump has actually said repeatedly he wanted to take control of the resource-rich Arctic island for security factors.
It is clear that with the pressure placed on Greenland by the Americans, in terms of sovereignty, borders and the future, we need to stay joined, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated Wednesday after getting here on the island for a three-day visit.Frederiksens see comes on the heels of a trip by United States Vice President JD Vance last week that both Nuuk and Copenhagen deemed a provocation.It also follows the development of a new Greenland union government led by the centre-right Democrats celebration, which won a general election in March.
I have however one wish and that is to do all that I can to take care of this wonderful country and to support it at a challenging time, Frederiksen said.Observers state her see will reassure the island of 57,000 people, the vast bulk of whom, polls reveal, wish to end up being independent from Denmark but do not want to become part of the United States.
I believe its extremely, extremely important and its very assuring for Greenlanders to see a Danish head of government, Mikaela Engell, an expert on the Arctic area who formerly functioned as Denmarks High Commissioner to Greenland, informed AFP.Earlier this year, the Danish federal government was nearly unnoticeable, she stated, explaining Copenhagens efforts as tip-toeing, attempting to accommodate United States interests and not antagonise Trump.But after the basic election and Vances check out, the gloves have come off, Engell said.Marc Jacobsen, a researcher at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP that the go to would give Denmark an opportunity to show coherence, to show support, to talk about what can they do more concretely, both in regards to how to respond to the United States, but likewise in regards to concrete cooperation financial investments.
Elephant in the roomFrederiksen is also anticipated to keep the position laid out previously by Denmarks foreign minister that it is possible to improve US military existence under a 1951 defence agreement.During his see last week to the Pituffik military base, Vance castigated Denmark for not having done an excellent task by the individuals of Greenland, by supposedly under purchasing security.Denmarks Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen responded in a post on social networks that We are open to criticisms, but let me be completely sincere, we do dislike the tone in which its being provided.
Denmarks foreign ministry has said efforts are underway to set up a conference between Lokke and his United States equivalent Marco Rubio at a conference of NATO foreign ministers this week in Brussels, but neither Greenland nor the Arctic are planned to be talked about .
It will be the elephant in the room, right? Jacobsen stated.
But the thing is that if they were to discuss the Arctic and Greenland, then somebody from the Greenland government should be present, thats the arrangement in between Denmark and Greenland, he said.According to The Washington Post, the White House is currently estimating the expense for the United States federal government to control Greenland, and the potential earnings it might derive from exploiting its mainly untapped natural resources.(Source: AFP)