00:00Joining me is Greenland's Minister for Business, Energy and Mineral Resources, Naya Nathanielsen.
00:15Her government is now entering talks with the US and Denmark over the future of her country.
00:21President Donald Trump is still seeking an unprecedented foothold in the Arctic island,
00:26despite climbing down on his previous threats to forcibly seize or acquire the territory.
00:33Minister, thank you so much for joining us. It's a pleasure to have you.
00:36Thank you for having me.
00:37So can I first ask you to reflect on the dramatic recent few days when the future of Greenland was really in the balance?
00:47After all of this, can Greenlanders still consider Trump's America to be their ally and friend?
00:55If I reflect back on the last 14 days and so, I think it was we saw an increased rhetoric regarding Greenland in terms of the American interest.
01:04But mind you, the US have had an interest in Greenland for the past many years, actually more than 100 of years.
01:10So we are quite used to this interest from the US.
01:14And we do realize that we are part of that national security interest sphere.
01:18So that part is not new to us.
01:21Of course, there has been an increased rhetoric about buying or acquiring Greenland or even taking us by force.
01:27We are not a territory.
01:28We are a country, equal country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
01:33And we are a people in our own right, acknowledged by law.
01:39And therefore, of course, it would be a great and grave violation of international law if anything was to happen without our consent.
01:47Trump has obviously climbed down on his most threatening rhetoric.
01:53But you are now entering talks with his administration as well as with Denmark on a future kind of deal.
02:00Trump says that a framework deal does exist.
02:04Are you aware of that framework and what does it entail?
02:07There is no deal yet.
02:10What we have is an agreement to venture into a dialogue between it's going to be, I think, maybe a number of different dialogues.
02:17I think there will be a NATO-led dialogue that has to do with maybe an increased presence from NATO in the high north that could be Greenland.
02:27We would welcome that.
02:28Then there would be these trilateral dialogues between the US on one side and the Kingdom of Denmark, consistent in this part of Greenland and Denmark on the other side.
02:39And we still have to gain clarity about what is what is the American interests concretely, because we really haven't heard anything yet.
02:49And then there might be something regarding a more closer business tie.
02:55And that would be a whole other dialogue as well.
02:58You mentioned that you are a country, you are a people, and your prime minister has said that Greenland's sovereignty and integrity of its borders cannot be violated.
03:10It's non-negotiable.
03:12Yet Trump is saying in public that he wants full access to your country.
03:17Do you think that a compromise is possible here?
03:21I think if you look at the 1951 agreement already in place, the US has wide access to Greenland, and we have no problems with this.
03:31We also do not have any problems with some sort of update of that agreement.
03:37But we would, of course, need to hear more in detail what that would entail and how that would be possible with our red lines,
03:44which is, as you mentioned, that we want the territory to be the realm to be intact and our sovereignty to be intact.
03:52You are, however, Minister for Mineral Resources, and we know that Greenland is a hotbed of critical raw materials.
04:03Would that be up for negotiations that have increased American access to those resources, more mining contracts as part of the commercial deal that you reference?
04:12Well, I do not want to combine any form of defense agreement with access to our minerals.
04:19We need to keep these things in their separate baskets, if you will.
04:23And we are very much open to investments and collaborations with the US.
04:28We already have a memorandum of understanding that is from 2019 under Trump 1 that we have been seeking to update.
04:36But we cannot, I think, start to put it all together in the same basket because it's different things.
04:43We cannot give another country full access to our minerals.
04:48This is a rule-based country.
04:51So we, of course, you need to follow the local rules and regulations in order to gain access.
04:56But we have definitely every interest in deepening our relationship and figuring out how can we, to our mutual benefit, develop our mineral sector.
05:06And several different investors, countries, are interested, of course, in developing Greenland's mineral sector, including some companies with Chinese links.
05:16Do you understand that Trump has some concerns around that?
05:22And would you be willing to limit the extent to which the West's adversaries, such as China, can invest in your mineral sector?
05:32Currently, as I'm aware, we have two Chinese companies invested in a mineral sector.
05:37Both of these licenses are inactive and both are being fought in court, actually, against the government of Greenland.
05:43And so I don't see a lot of Chinese interest into our mineral sector.
05:48We don't see a lot of Chinese interference in our waters, as also mentioned.
05:55I think we have shown quite clearly throughout the years that where we stand in terms of allyships and partnerships,
06:01and we have clearly chosen the Western world as our partners, the European Union, the U.S., Canada, U.K.
06:10And I think we have, both in regulation and in policy, shown where we stand.
06:19Minister, the past few days have been quite frightening for some Greenlanders,
06:24especially when Trump initially was using rhetoric such as the possibility of using force to seize the territory.
06:31You mentioned that there could potentially be dialogue around increased NATO presence.
06:38But do you think today that Europe and Western allies, other than the U.S., would be ready and able to defend Greenland if it was needed?
06:50I think there's more than one answer to that question, really.
06:53I think that NATO has proven itself to be a good alliance.
06:57The countries, the member states do not always agree on everything, but it has, I think, shown and given prosperity and peace to a wider part of the world than just the NATO member states.
07:08So I think it's a good alliance.
07:10Do I believe that everything will be unchanged in the future?
07:13If you look at the world historically, no, things have changed throughout the years and allies have shifted.
07:21And, of course, this will also happen to us sometime in the future.
07:24I think that right now is a lot of wishful thinking in Europe, pining towards the things that were.
07:32But we are in a changing world order.
07:34And also, like the Canadian prime minister said, the rupture already has happened.
07:38And so I think we all need to find our footing in these new alliances and figure out how do we see ourselves going forward?
07:45What kind of values do we want to guide our future policies?
07:49And it's not going to be free.
07:51It's going to cost difficult discussions amongst allies, amongst friends and also economically in the country.
07:59So I think a lot of things are up in the air at this moment, not only in Greenland, but also in Europe and in the States.
08:06And we have to see where everything lands.
08:10You mentioned just very briefly that new world order, that rupture that Prime Minister Carney of Canada referred to.
08:18How fearful are you that Greenland could be particularly vulnerable, though, because we know of its strategic position in the Arctic.
08:24We know of its mineral wealth.
08:27And what does Greenland need to be able to defend itself in this new world order where it might overwrite?
08:34Well, Greenland will never be able to defend ourselves military on our own.
08:38That has never been our plan.
08:40And we have always been vulnerable towards outside interests from bigger countries.
08:45We have been a colony in the past.
08:48We have been used to an intense look upon our resources from the outside world.
08:54And I think it's done a great job trying to build a community based on international law and transparency and democracy.
09:02But mind you, if Greenland is at stake in some form or other in the future, so is the entire Western world.
09:10That would only be part of it.
09:12That would mean that rupture was complete and that you could no longer rely on international law to be upheld.
09:18So that would change the situation not only in Greenland, but for everybody that is affected and rely on ourselves with our values.
09:28Finally, what do you think these past weeks, months have done to the increasing calls for more self-determination and eventually even independence for Greenland?
09:39And do you think that has received a little bit of a setback and that you realize that your deep reliance and connection with Denmark and with Europe?
09:48Or do you think there's still a case to be made about further self-determination for Greenland?
09:54Well, I think any country are working towards more self-determination.
09:57But in your country, I think it's very natural.
10:00And for us, this has never been a sprint.
10:02It has always been a marathon.
10:03And we are working towards more self-determination within the kingdom of Denmark.
10:07And that is where the people's appetite is currently and has been for many years.
10:12So there has never been this imminent, complete sovereignty right around the corner.
10:19I think that has been something that has maybe been painted by outside media more than the actual discussions within Greenland.
10:26So we are working towards more self-determination in every aspect.
10:31If you look at the Greenland community and country, we have really built strong institutions in the last 30, 40 years or so, and really shown that we gradually take more and more responsibility for our own community.
10:46And always with an underlying understanding that we are so few, 57,000 people currently, that we will never be able to gain fully independence and be able to defend our country military.
10:59That has never been a goal.
11:01It has always been a goal to gain more self-determination.
11:04And I think it's a very human want.
11:08And I think that will, of course, stay.
11:11I also think that the idea of freedom is a baseline for us.
11:21The idea that we can determine our own fate is very strong.
11:26And these past two weeks, I think, has really both caused concern, of course, but also I did take an anger beginning to come forward that people feel that what is happening now is unjust.
11:44And they find it difficult to wrap their head around that an ally would treat us like that.
11:51Minister, many thanks for joining us on Euronews.
11:54Thank you for having me.
11:55Have a nice day.
Comments