Greenland’s government said yesterday it will increase efforts to ensure the defence of the Arctic territory takes place under the auspices of Nato, and again rejected US President Donald Trump’s ambition to take over the island.
Trump has said the United States must own Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China occupying the strategically located and minerals-rich territory in the future.
“All Nato member states, including the United States, have a common interest in the defence of Greenland,” the island’s coalition government said in a statement, adding that it can in no way accept a US takeover of Greenland.
“As part of the Danish commonwealth, Greenland is a member of Nato and the defence of Greenland must therefore be through Nato,” the government said.
The European Union Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said earlier yesterday that any US military takeover of Greenland would be the end of Nato.
He said that European Union member states would be obliged to come to Denmark’s assistance if faced with military aggression.
“I agree with the Danish Prime Minister (Mette Frederiksen) that it will be the end of Nato, but also among people it will be very, very negative,” he said as he attended a security conference in Sweden.
Earlier, Ms Frederiksen said that Denmark faced a ‘decisive moment’ in its diplomatic battle with the US over Greenland, after Trump again suggested using force to seize the Arctic territory.
“There is conflict over Greenland,” she said, ahead of meetings in Washington.
“This is a decisive moment” with stakes that go beyond the immediate issue of the territory’s future, she added in a debate with other Danish political leaders.
Ms Frederiksen posted on Facebook that “we are ready to defend our values – wherever it is necessary – also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in people’s right to self-determination”.
Trump first floated the idea of a US takeover of Greenland in 2019 during his first term in office, although he faces opposition in Washington, including from within his own party.
While Denmark has ruled Greenland for centuries, the territory has gradually been moving towards independence since 1979, a goal shared by all political parties elected to the island’s parliament.
“We are a democratic society that makes our own decisions. And our actions are based on international law,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen wrote on LinkedIn.
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