Following high-stakes talks at the White House with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland firmly rejected any prospect of the United States acquiring Greenland. They confirmed, however, the creation of a joint group with Washington to address Arctic security concerns.
Denmark’s foreign minister said Donald Trump wants to “conquer” Greenland, stressing this runs counter to the kingdom’s interests. He added talks would explore U.S. concerns while respecting Denmark’s red lines.
#Greenland #Denmark #Trump #JDVance #MarcoRubio #WhiteHouse #Arctic #NationalSecurity #Geopolitics #Diplomacy #USPolitics #ForeignPolicy #Sovereignty #InternationalRelations #BreakingNews #WorldPolitics #ArcticSecurity #Headlines #GlobalTensions #NewsUpdate
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Denmark’s foreign minister said Donald Trump wants to “conquer” Greenland, stressing this runs counter to the kingdom’s interests. He added talks would explore U.S. concerns while respecting Denmark’s red lines.
#Greenland #Denmark #Trump #JDVance #MarcoRubio #WhiteHouse #Arctic #NationalSecurity #Geopolitics #Diplomacy #USPolitics #ForeignPolicy #Sovereignty #InternationalRelations #BreakingNews #WorldPolitics #ArcticSecurity #Headlines #GlobalTensions #NewsUpdate
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NewsTranscript
00:00Minister Vivian Mosfeldt and I met with Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio today.
00:10We came here following a number of, how should I put it, remarkable public comments on Greenland
00:19and Arctic security.
00:22Our aim was to find a joint way forward to increase Arctic security.
00:28What can the Kingdom of Denmark do more?
00:31What can U.S. do more?
00:33What can NATO do more?
00:36The Kingdom of Denmark has already stepped up our own contribution by committing additional
00:43funds for military capabilities, not dock slates, but ships, drones, fighter jets, etc.
00:52And we are definitely ready to do more.
00:55The U.S. has already a wide military access to Greenland.
01:01Under the 1951 Defense Agreement, the U.S. can always ask for increasing its presence in Greenland,
01:11and therefore we wish to hear if the U.S. had any further requests to make in this aspect.
01:17We would examine any such request constructively.
01:22Greenland is, through the Kingdom of Denmark, a member of NATO, and has been that since the
01:29very founding of NATO in 1949, and is therefore also covered by Article 5.
01:36We have been pushing for quite a while in NATO for a stronger collective role in Greenland together
01:43with a number of allies.
01:45And we are eager to work with the U.S. on advancing this agenda, and we are prepared to go further.
01:53Therefore, our aim was to find a common understanding on all these points and to launch, if possible,
02:01further in-depth work to deliver on them.
02:05On this basis, we had what I will describe as a frank, but also constructive discussion.
02:12The discussions focused on how to ensure the long-term security in Greenland.
02:17And here, our perspectives continue to differ, I must say.
02:22The President has made his view clear, and we have a different position.
02:29We, the Kingdom of Denmark, continue to believe that also the long-term security of Greenland
02:35can be ensured inside the current framework, the 1951 agreement on the defense of Greenland,
02:42as well as the NATO treaty.
02:45For us, ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the
02:53right of self-determination of the Greenland people are, of course, totally unacceptable.
03:01And we therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree.
03:06And therefore, we will, however, continue to talk.
03:10We have decided to form a high-level working group to explore if we can find a common way
03:16forward.
03:18The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns while
03:23at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.
03:28We expect that such a group will meet for a first time within a matter of weeks.
03:35And then I will pass the floor to my colleague from Greenland, Vivian Mosbilt.
03:38Thank you so much.
03:41Not repeating what's already been said here.
03:44So I would like to say something in my own language, because there are many, many people
03:51in Greenland that follow, and for that, I hope that you will allow me.
03:57So I would like to say something in my own language.
04:02In my own language, I think it's important to have a person who knows what I mean.
04:06In the past, I think it's important to have a person who knows what I mean.
04:12I think that our meeting today and our commitment to find the right path
04:38is something that gives us to be able to see forward.
04:44And by saying that, I also committed on what Foreign Minister Lars Lüge Rasmussen already said.
04:53So thank you for that.
04:55And then I think we can take a few questions.
04:57Tom from BBC.
04:58Yes, over here.
04:59Thank you very much, Tom.
05:02Just first of all, you talked about the working group.
05:04Can you just give us a sense of what this means now?
05:07So what has actually been agreed you're going to do next, despite this, as you described it,
05:12fundamental disagreement?
05:13And you mentioned the job slaves.
05:15In terms of what you've announced in terms of keeping up security in the Arctic around Britain,
05:20when you hear that kind of language from President Trump about to turn on to job slaves,
05:27how does that make you feel?
05:29Well, that's actually quite a few questions at the same time.
05:33Well, I have known the President for quite a while, also in my former capacity as Prime Minister in Denmark,
05:41and I know his approach.
05:45But I must say, even though he addressed things quite differently from what I would have done myself,
05:54there's also always a bit of truth in what he's saying, not about the dog slaves.
05:59Well, we also have dog slaves to our special forces.
06:01That's the way to, you know, otherwise you couldn't come around in the northern part of Greenland.
06:07But I must say that, of course, we share to some extent his concerns.
06:13There's definitely a new security situation in the Arctic and the high north.
06:17All of us, transatlantic, took the peace dividend years ago,
06:24and we have the vision of keeping Arctic as a low-tension region.
06:29That's probably also why the U.S. themselves have decided to have a much softer footprint in Greenland.
06:40During the Cold War, at some stage, they had 17 different military installations and military bases.
06:47Now they only have one.
06:49They had like 10,000 personnel in Greenland.
06:51Now they have around 200.
06:53That's not our decision.
06:54That's a U.S. decision.
06:56And now the situation is entirely different.
06:59And, of course, we have to respond to this.
07:02The big difference is whether that must lead to a situation where U.S. acquire Greenland,
07:11and that is absolutely not necessary.
07:14I mean, we have the long-lasting diplomatic relation,
07:18the longest-lasting diplomatic relation with U.S. that any U.S. ally has, 225 years in a row.
07:27And we have a perfect framework which could be used.
07:34And, therefore, to answer your question,
07:37even though we wasn't so successful that we reached a conclusion where our American colleagues said,
07:52oh, sorry, it was totally misunderstanding, we gave up on our ambitions,
07:56there's clearly a disagreement,
07:58we agreed that it makes sense to try to sit down on a high level
08:04to explore whether there is possibilities to accommodate the concerns of the president
08:11while we, at the same time, respect the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.
08:17So this is the work we will start.
08:20Whether that is doable, I don't know.
08:24I hope, and I would like to express that, that it could take, you know, down the temperature.
08:30We have now had, like, 13 months with this ongoing discussions in social media,
08:36and this is actually the very first time where we could sit down at a top political level to discuss it.
08:44And it was a great opportunity also for Vivian and I to go up against the narrative
08:50because it is not a true narrative that we have, you know, Chinese warships all around the place.
08:58According to our intelligence, we haven't had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so.
09:07So, from that perspective, it was a very constructive meeting, as I said,
09:13frank discussion among equal partners, and now at least we have to give it a try.
09:19Do you want to add anything?
09:21No, I think it's very important to say it again,
09:29that how important it is from our side to strengthen our cooperation with the United States,
09:34but that doesn't mean that we want to be owned by the United States,
09:40but as allies, how we can strengthen our cooperation is all our interest.
09:46Yes.
09:48Yeah, thank you very much.
09:50Of course, I would like to ask this question in Danish,
09:53but let me do it in English here because of our college here.
09:57Do you see any compromise ahead of you?
10:01You said a little bit.
10:01Could you elaborate a little on the possible compromise that there would be
10:05between the president's wish to acquire Greenland or have control of Greenland
10:10and the red lines that the Kingdom of Denmark has got right now?
10:15And if you also can tell us just a little bit about the approach that the Americans had to this meeting,
10:23what was their primary goal, as you see it, was that to reach that end goal,
10:30or was it an open discussion of how do we solve the security situation in the United States?
10:35Well, first of all, I don't think this is the proper place to elaborate on what could be a compromise.
10:41The whole idea and the reason why we asked for this meeting was to turn public debate
10:47in a very black and white kind of setting into a discussion where there is room for nuances.
10:57And therefore, I'm pleased even though we do not agree whether this is doable while we at the same time
11:05should respect the Kingdom's red lines.
11:08At least it is productive to start discussions at a high level.
11:15And then we have to see whether we will be successful or not.
11:19I would say, and that is probably in comparison to some of the public debate,
11:25that the meeting took place in a very constructive atmosphere
11:29where we also had, as I said, the opportunity to at least challenge the narrative presented by the American president.
11:40And I think that is a necessity if we want to have a proper debate.
11:49And it was basically about security.
11:52I mean, and as I said, even though there's not an instant threat from China and Russia,
12:00at least not a threat we can't accommodate.
12:04For instance, Chinese investments, we have avoided that due to close cooperation between Greenland and Denmark.
12:12When you saw like 10 years ago, the Belt and Road Initiative
12:15and the idea of Chinese investments in infrastructure in Greenland, we avoided that.
12:19So there's no, you know, Chinese present in Greenland.
12:24But there's a concern.
12:25Will that be the case in like 10 or 20 years from now?
12:30It will not, because our Greenlandic friends have introduced investments, green schemes, etc.
12:36And Denmark, you know, is by all means on the right side of history.
12:46And therefore, we will also continue to do what we already have done.
12:51We have been stepping up.
12:52We have allocated almost 15 billion U.S. dollars within just a couple of years to capabilities in the high north.
13:01We have been pushing among the Arctic NATO states for a bigger NATO engagement.
13:11Honestly speaking, and now I can only point fingers at the former American administration,
13:16U.S. has historically been a bit reluctant.
13:19Hopefully that will change now.
13:22There's a dialogue within the NATO framework, and we want to step up.
13:27And hopefully that could also accommodate some of the president's concern.
13:32But it's not that I'm now, you know, saying everything is solved.
13:36It's not solved.
13:36We didn't manage, but honestly speaking, I didn't believe that that was doable.
13:43We didn't manage to change the American position.
13:47It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.
13:55We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom.
13:59There's a government in Greenland with support from three-quarters of the Greenlandic population.
14:03The premier made it very, very clear yesterday that Greenland, for the time being and for a foreseeable future,
14:11will remain within the kingdom of Denmark.
14:14And therefore, this is a common position that we want to work with our American friends and allies,
14:23but it must be a respectful cooperation, and it must respect the red lines.
14:28Should we take a very final question and then – yeah, yeah, come on.
14:31There's a fight going on now about – yeah, okay.
14:35Yes.
14:38We can do that afterwards.
14:39So both of you, so you say you have had a constructive meeting.
14:45You said in Greenland, I could hear the translation, it was a good meeting.
14:49But how do you feel about going out of that room without the strength being off the table?
14:54So we still have the American administration that wants to have Greenland being part of the United States.
15:02And you say, Lars Löber-Rasmussen, that, well, we hope that we can find a way.
15:07But how do you actually feel?
15:09I mean, it can't be very sort of secure in this way.
15:13Vivian?
15:13I think that it's never been so important to initiate that we are allies, we are friends, we have been cooperated in many, many years.
15:26We have history together.
15:28So it's all ours' interest to find the right balances.
15:32So I don't think I can say it longer than that.
15:35Of course, we have work to do in the future.
15:42And for us, the most important is that you find the normalized relationship we used to have.
15:52And it's very important.
15:54And I think that we have initiated so many times where we stand and our geopolitics and location and everything that is very important.
16:05And we do it as an ally.
16:08And we do it, of course, it's also our interest that Greenland's positions and how we do it, that you do it on behalf of the allies.
16:24And, yes.
16:27That would be the final question.
16:30That would be the final question.
16:35What did the administration, what did Trump's team say to you when you presumably told them that you can't just take over a people, you can't just take over and acquire a nation?
16:48Was there any discussion about do they appreciate that perspective or for them is this simply about security?
16:54I think that what we have been saying that the meeting has been on a respect way.
17:06And we have shown where our limits are.
17:14And from there, I think that it would be very good to look forward.
17:18And this high-level group that is going to work together, as I'm always saying that it's all our interest to find the right path.
17:33It's all according to the security in Northern Hemisphere.
17:41So I don't want to say more than what we discussed in the closed meeting room, but I would like to have this hope for a more mutual understanding and trying to find the right balances is equally from all countries.
18:09It is, of course, very emotional for all of us, and, of course, particularly for people living up in Greenland, but also for people in Denmark.
18:24We have 17,000 Greenlandic people living in Denmark.
18:27It sums up to like one-third of the Greenlandic population.
18:31We have a lot of Danes living in Greenland, more than one out of ten, which just emphasize that Denmark and Greenland are, you know, integrated, and it has been that for centuries.
18:43And we look at ourselves as U.S. closest allies, you know, I've had this discussion with the president previously, you know, in Afghanistan, we had exactly as many casualties as U.S.,
18:59and I know very well that, you know, the future is not necessarily about the past, but I think it is important also to have the past in mind.
19:10And we are eager to fulfill our promises, and even though our view on the situation right now around Greenland differs from public statements in the U.S., we share the concerns in a long-time perspective.
19:27And we want to work closely with the U.S., but it must, of course, be a respectful kind of cooperation.
19:34And we both took the opportunity, of course, also to express that it is not easy to think innovative about solutions when you wake up every morning to different threats.
19:47Whether that will have an impact, I can't say for sure, but I can only say that it is in everybody's interest, even though we disagree,
19:56that we agree that we agree to try to explore whether it is doable to accommodate some of the concerns, while at the same time respecting the integrity of the Danish Kingdom's territory and the self-determination of the Greenlandic people.
20:14How concerned are you that Trump will try to take Greenland by force?
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