Greenland\u2019s prime minister has said \u201cwe choose Denmark\u201d before high-stakes talks at the White House about Donald Trump\u2019s intention to take control of the Arctic territory.<\/p>\n
Amid rising tensions over the US president\u2019s push, Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a joint press conference with his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday that the island would not be owned or governed by Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now facing a geopolitical crisis. If we have to choose between the US and Denmark<\/a> here and now, we choose Denmark, Nato and the EU,\u201d Nielsen said, adding that the island\u2019s \u201cgoal and desire is peaceful dialogue, with a focus on cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s pursuit of the island was also a matter of \u201cinternational law and our right to our own country\u201d, he said. \u201cEveryone must grasp one thing. Greenland<\/a> will not be owned by the US. Greenland will not be governed by the US.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump first raised the idea of a US takeover of Greenland, a largely self-governing part of Denmark, in 2019, during his first term. But he has ramped up his rhetoric significantly this month, saying the US would take it \u201cone way or the other\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The US vice-president, JD Vance, is to host a crunch meeting with the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark, Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio<\/a>, in Washington on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The US president has shocked the EU and Nato<\/a> by refusing to rule out military force to seize the strategically located and mineral-rich island, which is covered by many of the protections offered by the two organisations because Denmark belongs to both.<\/p>\n Frederiksen said it had not been easy for Denmark to \u201cstand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest ally\u201d. She said something fundamental was at stake, and there was \u201cmuch evidence the most challenging part lies ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n The fact was that \u201cborders cannot be changed by force, and that small countries should not fear large countries\u201d, she said. \u201cThat is why we are saying no. We are not looking for any conflict. But our message is clear. Greenland is not for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n L\u00f8kke Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen on Tuesday: \u201cOur reason for seeking the meeting we have now been given was to move this whole discussion \u2026 into a meeting room where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things.\u201d<\/p>\n Frederiksen has previously said a US invasion would lead to the end of Nato<\/a> and multiple European leaders have pledged<\/a> their support for Greenland\u2019s territorial integrity and right to self-determination.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said on Tuesday that any US move to take control of Greenland \u201cwould be a real unprecedented situation in the history of Nato, and in the history of any defense alliance in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n The Danish defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, said after a meeting of the Danish parliament\u2019s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday that he and Motzfeldt would also meet the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, in Brussels next Monday.<\/p>\n Poulsen said Denmark planned a larger military presence alongside other Nato countries in Greenland this year, adding that Copenhagen sought \u201cgreater attention from Nato in relation to issues regarding Nato\u2019s presence in and around the Arctic\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump argues the US needs to control Greenland to increase Arctic security in the face of an alleged threat from China and Russia. Rutte said on Tuesday all Nato members agreed that \u201cwhen it comes to the protection of the Arctic, we have to work together\u201d.<\/p>\n The Nato chief declined repeatedly to comment on US demands, saying it was \u201cnot up to me to comment on discussions between allies. He said the alliance was \u201cworking on the next steps\u201d and was in \u201ccomplete agreement on the urgency of the situation\u201d.<\/p>\n Alliance members including France and Germany have floated suggestions including bolstering Nato\u2019s presence in the region or stationing troops on Greenland itself. But diplomats say talks are at a very early stage and there are no concrete plans.<\/p>\n Denmark will also host a meeting of the foreign, security and defence policy contact committee of the Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese governments on Wednesday. Officials said this would be an \u201copportunity to discuss the political and economic situation\u201d.<\/p>\n In Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, Pele Broberg, the leader of the opposition party Naleraq, told the Guardian the preferable outcome of the Washington talks was to reach a deal with the US. \u201cThey want to do a deal the easy way or the hard way: who wants the hard way?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n He said a deal would be \u201cgreat, but we haven\u2019t heard about it\u201d. He also questioned L\u00f8kke Rasmussen\u2019s attendance, saying the talks had \u201cnothing to do with Danish foreign politics, and everything to do with the Greenlandic people\u2019s future\u201d.<\/p>\n Greenland has been moving toward independence since 1979, when it won self-rule from Denmark. The goal is shared by all political parties elected to the island\u2019s parliament, although there are differences over the best timescale.<\/p>\n Broberg accused Copenhagen of using \u201cNato, and the Danish ownership of Greenland\u201d to have a say in Greenland\u2019s future. \u201cIt shows that they are still not ready to actually let us go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n