Danish PM heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of territory
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is travelling to Greenland for a three-day trip aimed at building the trust of Greenlandic officials as the Trump administration seeks control of the vast Arctic territory.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced plans for her trip after US vice president JD Vance visited a US air base in Greenland last week and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory.
Greenland is a mineral-rich, strategically critical island that is becoming more accessible due to climate change.
Mr Trump has said that the landmass is critical to US security. It is part of North America but is a semi-autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.
Ms Frederiksen is due to meet the incoming Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after an election last month that produced a new government.
She will also meet the future Naalakkersuisut, the cabinet, in a visit due to last until Friday.
“It has my deepest respect how the Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic politicians handle the great pressure that is on Greenland,” she said in government statement announcing the visit.
Independence
On the agenda are talks with Mr Nielsen about cooperation between Greenland and Denmark.
For years, the people of Greenland, with a population of about 57,000, have been working towards eventual independence from Denmark.
The Trump administration’s threats to take control of the island one way or the other, possibly even with military force, have angered many in Greenland and Denmark. The incoming government wants to take a slower approach on the question of eventual independence.
The political group in Greenland most sympathetic to the US President, the Naleraq party that advocates a swift path toward independence, was excluded from coalition talks to form the next government.
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, associate professor at the Danish defence academy, said last week that the Trump administration’s aspirations for Greenland could backfire and push the more mild parties closer to Denmark.
He said that “Trump has scared most Greenlanders away from this idea about a close relationship to the United States because they don’t trust him.”
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Article 5 about to be tested.
The bloke ruins everything he touches, he has no moral standing. Usual suspects held him up because he started no wars round 1, now he is about to force a coup or invade a nation. He wants to invade Canada and Panama.
And his picks are using insecure systems to do government work.
And a musk attempt to buy a judge just failed in the US.
Just name an absurd price. That usually puts off the chancers. Sorry Don, you can’t afford it.
No, that won’t work. He’d agree but never cough up. You are looking at a spiv not a business man.
Put it in escrow and we’ll talk.
Danes should place Greenland on a pathway to independence as no nation should “own” another. Then NATO nations should invite Greenland to join a mutual defence pact which might be a bit one sided but would send a message to the orange goon that he’s got no business in that land beyond the base his forces currently occupy.
As for the “threat” of invasion from the north I thought he was bragging about being able to talk sense to Putin. Evident he’s only after grabbing the huge mineral wealth of Greenland and nowt else.
All of the countries that he refuses to support should evict any US military and close their bases. He is a politician that can’t be relied upon and so should be treated as such by ALL nations.