Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre found himself in the unlikely position on Sunday of joining fellow NATO allies in opposing their biggest ally of all, the United States. Støre had already called US President Donald Trump’s new threats tied to a US takeover of Greenland “unacceptable,” adding that they “have no place among allies.”
NATO forces have been helping Denmark and Greenland defend Greenland for years, not least after the US itself reduced its presence on the Arctic island. Now US President Donald Trump wants to punish NATO allies for doing so. This photo shows surveillance by a Challenger aircraft that’s always part of the Joint Arctic Command that also takes part in emergency operations. PHOTO: The Danish Air Force
Støre’s latest remarks came at a hastily called press conference Sunday afternoon after Trump had threatened eight of his own allies in NATO with punitive tariffs: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. Trump wants control of Greenland and is angry that all eight countries support and defend Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. Also that they recognize how Greenland would rather remain part of the Kingdom of Denmark than be bought and taken over by the US.
Trump is believed to have been especially provoked by how some NATO allies have sent more forms of military aid to Greenland, not least after Trump himself claimed Greenland was threatened by alleged Russian and Chinese ships in the area. Norway, for example, sent two officers to assess Greenland’s needs and chart “further cooperation among allies.”
The goal is to strengthen security in the Arctic, which has been Trump’s stated goal as well. Other NATO allies have recently sent military personnel to Greenland, with Sweden stating that it responded as part of preparations for NATO’s looming winter exercises called Operation Arctic Endurance.
This photo was taken last autumn during another military exercise on Greenland involving Danish and Norwegian soldiers. PHOTO: Helene Sofie Thorkildsem/ Norsk Forsvaret
A call for help from Denmark, however, also came after Trump refused to rule out use of US force to take over over Greenland, even though that would pit allies against allies and threaten NATO’s existence. Denmark faces what many call an “absurd” situation in which Greenland is now under threat not as much from Russia or China as from the US. Danish defense officials called it “completely hypothetical” that the US would resort to attacking Greenland, but confirmed that their job is to defend the Kingdom of Denmark. Both Greenland and the Færoe islands are part of the kingdom.
Trump ended up choosing to financially attack eight of his NATO allies with new tariffs during the weekend. Trump’s threatened punishment (a 10 percent tariff on all exports to the US as of February 1, rising to 25 percent on June 1) has been branded as “unacceptable” by all of eight of them including Norway. The tariff threats set off a new intense round of contact among NATO allies in Northern Europe, and resulted in release of a joint statement on Sunday.
Norwegian, Swedish and Danish soldiers from their respective countries’ Home Guard (Heimevernet) also took part in last year’s “Arctic Light” exercises at Kangerlussuaq on Greenland. Now US President Donald Trump is upset that eight NATO allies have been back helping defend Greenland, which he wants to make part of the US. PHOTO: Helene Sofie Thorkildsen/ Norsk Forsvaret
“As members of NATO, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared trans-Atlantic interest,” reads the statement. “The pre-coordinated Danish exercise “Arctic Endurance“ conducted with Allies, responds to this necessity. It poses no threat to anyone.
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,” further claimed the eight NATO allies’ joint statement. “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind.”
The statement concluded by claiming that tariff threats “undermine trans-Atlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
Trump welcomed Norwegian Prime Minister Støre to the White House last spring, but is now threatening to impose heavy punitive tariffs on Norway and seven other NATO allied countries because of their willingness to help defend Greenland. PHOTO: Daniel Sannum Lauten Pool/TV 2/SMK
Norwegian Prime Minister Støre picked up on that at his press conference in Oslo on Sunday, after calling Trump’s earlier threats “unacceptable” and having “no place among allies” on Saturday. He added that Norway’s position on the issue remains unchanged, after firmly supporting Denmark and Greenland earlier this month.
“Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Norway supports the Kingdom og Denmark’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Norway supports the talks between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark, as agreed at their meeting earlier this week,” Støre wrote on Saturday. “There is broad agreement among NATO allies, including with the United States, on the need to strengthen security in the Arctic, including in Greenland.”
Støre further claimed on Sunday that the US knew Norway was sending two officers to Greenland, indicating that Trump shouldn’t have been surprised about that. Their trip to Greenland came after consultations with the US “and all other allies in NATO,” Støre said. “The officers are on Greenland to plan NATO exercises on the island in the future.” Støre also stressed that there’s “broad agreement within NATO” to increase security and defense forces in the Arctic.
Newspaper Klassekampen reported earlier this month that Norwegian soldiers also took part last fall in military exercises on Greenland, with the goal of defending allied territory. NATO allies Germany, France, Sweden Norway and Denmark spent time training how to secure critical infrastructure, crisis scenarios and how to work in Greenland’s special and often frozen nature. The US was invited to also take part, an officer in Norway’s Home Guard told Klassekampen, but declined.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was in Oslo Sunday for crisis talks with his Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide. “We’re meeting in extremely dramatic and, I would say, historic times,” Eide said at a late afternoon press conference following their exchange. “It’s very important that we stand together in this situation that we’re now facing. We stand firmly with the Kingdom of Denmark.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund