Arctic Security Conference 2025: Former US Ambassador to the Arctic: Trump Has Not Forgotten Greenland
Michael Sfraga was confirmed by the Senate as the United States’ first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs on September 24, 2024. He resigned shortly after Donald Trump took office as President in January. Here, Sfraga is participating in the Arctic Security Conference in Oslo, organized by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. (Photo: Bård Gudim/FNI)
Oslo (High North News): Donald Trump is unlikely to have given up on his quest for control over Greenland, believes Michael Sfraga, the former US Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs. "When presidents speak, you should listen," he points out.
This winter and spring, US President Donald Trump repeatedly expressed a desire for American control over Greenland while referring to national and international security.
Although some time has passed since these statements, Greenland is still on the White House's agenda, believes Michael Sfraga.
He is the former US Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs and now the Interim Chancellor of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
"I don't think the Trump Administration has given up efforts to influence Greenland or pursue the understanding that 'we need to have more control over Greenland.' This may be gone from the headlines, but not from the US foreign policy," says Sfraga at the recent Arctic Security Conference in Oslo.
"When presidents speak, you should listen. And whenever the US president talks, he is setting, changing and nuancing American domestic and foreign policy, even if it is a throwaway line at a press conference. So one should never ignore what the president says," he underlined.
With this approach, you will not have to worry about the influence of China or Russia."
Investing over invading
Although Trump's statements should be taken seriously, Sfraga does not believe the approaches he has outlined or not ruled out will be put into practice.
"We should not and nor will we invade, take over, or buy Greenland. We should respect borders and the rule of law, which we have stood for over many decades. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and it is up to the Greenlanders to decide whether they want independence or not," he says and continues:
"If the stated goal regarding Greenland is to strengthen US national security and collective security, we have tools in our toolkit to invest in Greenland. An expanded defense posture can be achieved both more quickly and for relatively fewer dollars if you invest in, for example, Greenland's civil society, research and education. With this approach, you will not have to worry about influence from China or Russia."
![– Hvis det er ett problem man ikke har, så er det "manglende evne" til å ivareta sikkerheten på Grønland – fordi Grønland er en del av Nato, påpeker utenriksminister Espen Barth Eide på Arktisk sikkerhetskonferanse. (Foto: Bård Gudim/FNI)](/sites/default/files/styles/media_image/public/2025-09/Espen%20Barth%20Eide_foto%20Ba%CC%8Ard%20Gudim%2C%20FNI.jpg?itok=0CjBPVbx "– Hvis det er ett problem man ikke har, så er det "manglende evne" til å ivareta sikkerheten på Grønland – fordi Grønland er en del av Nato, påpeker utenriksminister Espen Barth Eide på Arktisk sikkerhetskonferanse. (Foto: Bård Gudim/FNI)")
"If there is one problem that we do not have, it is the 'inability' to ensure security in Greenland, because Greenland is part of NATO," says Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide at the Arctic Security Conference. (Photo: Bård Gudim/FNI)
Ample space for adjustments
The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide (Labor), expresses support for Sfraga's perspective on Greenland, and underlines that Greenland is NATO territory.
"I think we should listen to presidents, but we should also have good conversations with presidents. A conversation that we and others are having focuses on the fact that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which again is a part of NATO," states Barth Eide and continues:
"The Kingdom of Denmark and the US have a bilateral agreement on the defense of Greenland from 1951. There has previously been 17 US military bases and other installations in Greenland with 10,000 soldiers. Denmark and Greenland have never ask anyone to leave, the US itself has reduced its presence to one base.
"There is ample space within existing formulas for a much greater presence in Greenland without the trouble of changing borders. This has been the Kingdom of Denmark's response, which we and the other Arctic NATO states strongly support."
