Several Meetings Between Greenland, Denmark and the US This Week
Greenland is a self-governed country and a part of the Kingdom of Denmark together with Denmark and the Faroe Islands. The US engagement in Greenland has increased over the past six to seven years, including the development of deeper bonds in security, economic, and people-to-people relations. (Photo: Birgitte Annie Hansen / High North News)
This week, the Danish foreign minister and his Greenlandic counterpart will meet with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, as well as the US Vice President in Washington, D.C. In addition, several American senators are traveling to Copenhagen to meet members of the Danish parliament.
Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and Greenland's foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, will meet with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, this week for talks.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., reported Danish TV2, citing a US Department of State calendar.
On Tuesday, the Danish foreign minister Rasmussen moreover tells Danish Broadcasting Corporation that US Vice President J.D. Vance also will participate and even host the meeting.
At the same time, several American lawmakers will be traveling to Copenhagen this week for meetings with the Foreign Policy Committee and the Greenland Committee in the Danish parliament.
"It is crucial that we do everything we can in terms of diplomatic tracks. Getting the situation back on a more normal track is essential," says Greenlandic parliament member Aaja Chemnitz (IA) to Danish TV2.
Aaja Chemnitz (IA) is Representative for Greenland in the Danish Parliament, the Folketing, as well as Chair of the Arctic Parliamentarians. (Photo: Astri Edvardsen).
In a Facebook post, Chemnitz writes that the meeting with the lawmakers is a result of her meeting with the US Senator Lisa Murkowski last week.
Murkowski is a Republican and a Senator for Alaska.
"It pleases me that my long-standing cooperation with Senator Murkowski can create a framework for dialogue at this time," writes Chemnitz.
"Profoundly troubling"
During a recent speech in the US Senate, Alaska Senator Murkowski spoke in support of Greenland's autonomy and said the US must focus on continued partnership rather than possession.
"There is a great deal we need to be doing. But there is one thing we should not be doing—one thing we should not be spending our time on—and that is any effort to annex Greenland. That includes taking it by force, coercion, pressure, threat, or any related method. This is not an issue I ever expected to raise on the floor of the Senate," she stated.
Many of us would like to quiet this rhetoric.
Murkowski expressed further concern for the president's way of talking about Greenland.
"There is a difference between discussion and conversation on the one hand, and what we are hearing now on the other. The statements being made suggest that taking Greenland—by force or coercion—is not only an option, but perhaps a priority, with military action on the table. That is profoundly troubling," she said and added:
"Many of us would like to quiet this rhetoric and make clear that such an option is not only unacceptable, but off the table entirely. Unfortunately, we have not received that assurance. While the Secretary of State has suggested that the focus is on purchase rather than military intervention, purchasing requires a willing buyer and a willing seller. Greenland and Denmark have made it abundantly clear that Greenland is not for sale."
US Senator of Alaska Lisa Murkowski (R) has been one of the critical republican voices with regards to the US President's actions, and has challenged Trump a number of times. The senator has in some cases aligned with Trump over some issues, such as Alaska energy and resource questions. (Photo: Arctic Circle).
On Tuesday it was furthermore revelaed that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D) will lead the bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation to Copenhagen, Denmark. The purpose is to highlight the longstanding friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark, including enduring national security ties and decades of economic cooperation, a press release states.
The delegation will be in Copenhagen Friday, January 16, and Saturday, January 17. Senator Coons will be joined on the trip by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R), Jeanne Shaheen (D), and Dick Durbin (D), and U.S. Representatives Gregory Meeks (D), Madeleine Dean (D), Sara Jacobs (D), and Sarah McBride (D). Additional members are expected to join the delegation as well.
Demanding times
The meetings this week take place during a challenging time between the Kingdom of Denmark and the US. Last week, the Danish Foreign Policy Committee set an emergency meeting concerning the Kingdom's relationship with the US.
US President Donald Trump and key administration officials have recently reiterated statements about control over Greenland and the need for the Arctic island, citing security concerns.
After the US military operations in Venezuela in early January, the statements about Greenland re-emerged. Among other things, Katie Miller, former adviser in the first Trump administration and wife of Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland covered in the US flag and the comment 'SOON'.
High North News recently reported on the Trump Administration's plans to acquire Greenland.
"Decided by the Greenlandic people"
Greenland, Denmark and a number of European countries have reacted strongly to the latest American statements.
In a joint statement on Friday, the five Greenlandic party leaders reiterate their desire for the US to stop its interference.
"We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders," the statement reads.
"Greenland is a country that is governed based on the Self-Government Act and international law. The Greenlandic government and the Greenlandic parliament have been elected by the Greenlandic citizens and thereby cooperate with both the US and the Western countries, and will continue to do so in the future."
"Greenland's future is to be decided by the Greenlandic people. The work concerning Greenland's future takes place in dialogue with the Greenlandic people and is based on international law and the Self-Government Act. No other country may interfere in this. We shall decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for a quick decision, delay, or interference from other countries," the party leaders write.
