00:05Joining me is Greenland.
00:10Minister for Business, Energy and Mineral Resources, Naya Nathanielsen.
00:15Her government is now entering talks with the US and Denmark over the future.
00:20President Donald Trump is still seeking an unprecedented...
00:25...foothold in the Arctic island, despite climbing down on his previous threats...
00:30...to forcibly seize or acquire the territory.
00:34Minister, thank you so much.
00:35Thank you so much for joining us.
00:36It's a pleasure to have you.
00:37Thank you for having me.
00:38So can I first ask you to reflect...
00:40...on the dramatic recent few days when the future of...
00:45...Greenland was really in the balance?
00:47After all of this, can Greenlanders...
00:50...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...
01:00...it was, we saw an increased rhetoric regarding Greenland...
01:03...in terms of the American interest, but...
01:05...mind you, the US have had an interest in Greenland for the past...
01:08...many years, actually, more than...
01:10...in hundreds of years.
01:11So we are quite used to this interest from the US and we...
01:15...do realize that we are part of that national security interest sphere.
01:19So that part is not...
01:20...new to us.
01:21Of course, there has been an increased rhetoric about buying or...
01:24...acquiring...
01:25...Greenland or even taking us by force.
01:27We are not a territory.
01:28We are a country.
01:30We are an equal country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
01:34And...
01:35...we are a people in our own right...
01:37...acknowledged by law and therefore...
01:40...of course, it would be a great and grave violation of international law...
01:44...if any...
01:45...everything was to happen without our consent.
01:47Trump has obviously climbed down.
01:50...on his most threatening rhetoric.
01:53But you are now entering...
01:55...talks with his administration as well as with Denmark...
01:58...on a future kind of...
02:00...a framework deal.
02:01Trump says that a framework deal does exist.
02:04Are you aware...
02:05...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...
02:14...it's going to...
02:15...and there is going to be, I think...
02:16...maybe a number of different dialogues.
02:18I think there will be a NATO-led...
02:20...dialogue that has to do with maybe...
02:22...an increased presence from NATO and...
02:25...in the high north.
02:26...that could be Greenland.
02:27We would welcome that.
02:29Then there would be...
02:30...these trilateral dialogues between...
02:33...the US on one side and the...
02:35...the Kingdom of Denmark consisted in this part...
02:37...of Greenland and Denmark on the other side.
02:39And we still...
02:40...have to gain clarity about what is...
02:42...what is the American interest.
02:45...concretely because we really haven't heard anything yet.
02:49And then there might...
02:50...be something regarding...
02:52...a more...
02:53...a closer business type.
02:55...and that would be a whole other...
02:57...dialogue as well.
02:59You mentioned...
03:00...that you are a country...
03:02...you are a people...
03:03...and your Prime Minister has...
03:05...said that Greenland's sovereignty...
03:07...and integrity of its borders cannot...
03:10...be violated.
03:11...it's non-negotiable.
03:12Yet Trump is saying in public...
03:14...that he wants...
03:15...full access...
03:16...to your country.
03:17Do you think that a...
03:19...compromised...
03:20...is possible here?
03:22I think...
03:23...if you look at the 1951...
03:24...Agre...
03:25...agreement already in place...
03:27...the US has wide access...
03:28...to Greenland...
03:29...and we have no...
03:30...problems with this.
03:31We also do not have...
03:32...any problems...
03:33...with some sort of...
03:34...
03:35update of that agreement. But we would, of course, need to hear more in detail what that
03:40would entail and how that would be possible with our Red Lions, which is, as you mentioned,
03:45that we want the territory to be the realm to be.
03:50Intact and our sovereignty to be intact.
03:53You are, however, Minister for...
03:55And we know that Greenland is a hotbed of...
04:00...of critical raw materials. Would that be a...
04:05...for negotiations that have increased American access to those resources, more mining...
04:10...contracts as part of the commercial deal that you referenced?
04:12Well, I do not want to combine...
04:15...as any form of defense agreement with access to our minerals. We need to keep...
04:20...these things in their separate baskets, if you will. And we are very much...
04:25...open to investments and collaborations with the US. We already have a memorandum of...
04:30...understanding, that is from 2019, under Trump 1, that we have been seeking to...
04:35...to update. But we cannot, I think, start to...
04:40...to put it all together in the same basket, because it's different things. We cannot give...
04:45...another country full access to our minerals. This is...
04:50...a rule-based country. So we, of course, you need to follow the...
04:54...local rules and regulations.
04:55...in order to gain access. But we have definitely every interest in deepening our...
05:00...relationship and figuring out this...
05:02...how can we, to our mutual benefit, develop...
05:05...our mineral sector. And several different investors...
05:08...countries are interested...
05:10...of course, in developing Greenland's mineral sector. Including...
05:15...some companies with Chinese links. Do you understand that Trump has...
05:20...some concerns around that? And would you be willing to limit...
05:25...the extent to which the West's adversaries, such as China, can...
05:30...invest in your mineral sector? Currently, as I'm aware, we have two...
05:35...Chinese companies invested in a mineral sector. Both of these licenses are inactive. And...
05:40...both are being fought in court, actually, against the government of Greenland. So I don't see...
05:45...a lot of Chinese interest into a mineral sector. We don't see a lot of Chinese...
05:50...interference in our waters, as I also mentioned.
05:55I think we have shown quite clearly throughout the years that where we stand in...
06:00...in terms of allyships and partnerships. And we have clearly chosen the Western...
06:05...world as our partners, the European Union, the US, Canada...
06:10...the UK. And I think we have both in regulation...
06:15...and in policy shown where we stand.
06:20And the past few days have been quite frightening for some Greenlanders, especially...
06:25...when Trump initially was using rhetoric such as the possibility of using...
06:30...forced to seize the territory. You mentioned that there could potentially...
06:35...be dialogue around increased NATO presence. But do you think today...
06:40...that Europe and Western allies, other than the US...
06:45...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. I think that NATO has...
06:55...proven itself to be a good alliance. The countries, the member states do not always...
07:00...agree on everything, but it has, I think, shown and given prosperity and peace to...
07:05...a wider part of the world than just the NATO member states. So I think it's a good alliance.
07:10So I believe that everything will be unchanged in the future. If you look at...
07:15...the world historically, no, things have changed throughout the years and...
07:20...allies have shifted. And of course, this will also happen to us sometime in the future.
07:25I think that right now there's a lot of wishful thinking in Europe, pining...
07:30...towards the things that were, but we are in a changing world order and also...
07:35...like the Canadian Prime Minister said, the rupture is already has happened. So I think...
07:40...we all need to find our footing in these new alliances and figure out...
07:43...how do we see ourselves going forward.
07:45...what kind of values do we want to guide our future policies and...
07:50...and it's not going to be free. It's going to cost difficult discussions.
07:55...amongst allies, amongst friends and also economically in the country.
08:00So I think a lot of things are up in the air at this moment, not only in Greenland, but also...
08:05...in Europe and in the States. And we have to see where everything lands.
08:10You mentioned just very briefly that New World Order, that rupture, that...
08:15...Prime Minister Carney of Canada referred to. How fearful are you that Greenland...
08:20...could be particularly vulnerable though, because we know of its strategic position in the Arctic, we know...
08:25...of its mineral wealth and what does Greenland need to be able to defend...
08:30...itself in this New World Order where it's might overwrite.
08:35Well, Greenland will never be able to defend ourselves military on our own. That has never been our plan.
08:40...and we have always been vulnerable towards outside interest from big...
08:45...countries. We have been a colony in the past. We have been used to the...
08:50...an intense look upon our resources from the outside world and I think...
08:55...we have done a great job trying to build a community based on international law and transparency...
09:00...and democracy. But mind you, if...
09:05...green...
09:05...greenland is at stake in some form or other in the future, so is the entire Western...
09:10...world. That would only be part of it. That would mean that the rupture was complete and that...
09:15...you could no longer rely on international law to be upheld. So that would...
09:20...change the situation not only in Greenland but for everybody that is affected and...
09:25...align ourselves with our values.
09:29Finally, what do you...
09:30...think these past weeks months have done to the increasing...
09:35...call for more self-determination and eventually even independence for Greenland.
09:40Do you think that has received a little bit of a setback and then you realize that your...
09:45...deep reliance and connection with Denmark and with Europe or do you think there's still a...
09:50...case to be made about further self-determination for Greenland?
09:54Well I think...
09:55...any country are working towards more self-determination but in your country...
09:58...I think it's very natural.
10:00And for us this has never been a sprint. It has always been a marathon and we are working towards...
10:05...more self-determination within the Kingdom of Denmark and that is where the people's...
10:10...appetite is currently and has been for many years so there has never been this imminent...
10:15...complete sovereignty right around the corner. I think that has been...
10:20...something that has maybe been painted by outside media more than the actual...
10:25...discussions within Greenland. So we are working towards more self-determination.
10:30...in every aspect. If you look at the Greenland community and country we have...
10:35...really built strong institutions in the last 30, 40 years.
10:40...and really shown that we gradually take more and more responsibilities.
10:45...for our own community and always with an underlying understanding...
10:50...that we are so few 57,000 people currently that we will never be...
10:55...be able to gain fully independence and be able to defend our country military.
11:00It has never been a goal. It has always been a goal to gain more self-determination and...
11:05...and I think it's a very human want and I think that will of course...
11:10...stay. I also think that...
11:15...that the idea of freedom is very...
11:19...is a baseline...
11:20...and for us the idea that we can determine our own fate is...
11:25...very strong and these past two weeks I think has really...
11:30...both cause concern of course but also...
11:35...that it's like an anger beginning to come forward...
11:39...that...
11:40...that...
11:40...that people feel that what is happening now is unjust.
11:44...
11:45...and...
11:46...and...
11:47...they find it difficult to wrap their head around that an ally would treat us like.
11:50Minister, many thanks for joining us on Euronews. Thank you.
11:55Thank you for having me. Have a nice day.
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