What is the latest development in Greenland negotiations? Danish Foreign Minister says this

On Thursday, January 29th, local time, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated before attending the EU Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels that the talks between Greenland, Denmark, and the United States held a day earlier in Washington were “very constructive,” and that the dialogue about the island “is back on track.”

“The atmosphere and tone are very positive, and we plan to hold new meetings,” Rasmussen said. “Things are not fully resolved yet, but that’s good because we are now back to the agreement reached in Washington two weeks and one day ago. Since then, there have been some setbacks. The situation escalated at one point, but now we are back on track.” Rasmussen added, “We can’t draw any conclusions yet, but I am more optimistic today than I was a week ago.”

According to reports, Greenland and Danish officials responsible for the island’s defense will travel to Germany and France this week, hoping to garner support from European allies on the Greenland issue.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Nielsen said on the 28th in Paris during an event, “As a government, we are working hard to respond to external pressures and reassure our citizens who feel fear and anxiety.”

Greenland Official: “Sovereignty Cannot Be Negotiated”

According to Xinhua News Agency, Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen stated during a visit to France on the 28th that there is no so-called Greenland agreement with NATO and U.S. President Trump, and that territorial sovereignty is a “red line” that cannot be crossed in resolving disputes.

Xinhua reported that Frederiksen said Greenland is part of NATO, and work related to U.S. defense and collective security can be carried out within the NATO framework. However, national sovereignty and the right to self-determination are “red lines that must be respected” and “cannot be compromised.”

Before Frederiksen made this latest statement, Trump said last Friday (the 23rd) that the U.S. would ensure control over the land where the Pituffik space base is located.

“We will get everything we want,” Trump said. “We are engaged in some interesting negotiations.”

Last weekend, Nathanielsen, Minister of Industry, Raw Materials, Mining, Energy, Law Enforcement, and Gender Equality of Greenland, said that Trump’s proposal was a “red line,” and that “Greenland is not currently considering relinquishing sovereignty,” she said.

Nathanielsen also stated that after a turbulent week, her government “has not received any information.”

On January 21, Trump and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that they had reached a “framework agreement” on Greenland. However, a few days after the framework agreement was announced, senior officials from Greenland and Europe said they were still unclear about what Trump and Stoltenberg had agreed upon in Davos.

Nathanielsen said that the Greenland government only began negotiations with NATO after Trump and Stoltenberg met in Switzerland.

She stated that NATO “has no jurisdiction or authority” to discuss Greenland’s sovereignty. Previously, Frederiksen also said that Denmark could negotiate with the U.S. on almost all issues related to Greenland, but “we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty.”

Stoltenberg said after meeting with Trump that he did not mention Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland during their talks.

Rubio: Officially Launch Arctic Security Consultations

On the 28th, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that officials from the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland have officially initiated technical-level diplomatic negotiations, and the consultation process has officially begun.

“Negotiations start today, and this will be a routine process,” he said. “We will strive to prevent each dialogue from turning into a ‘media circus,’ because we believe this can create more flexibility for both sides and lead to positive outcomes.”

According to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the focus of Wednesday’s discussions was on how to respect the “Kingdom of Denmark’s bottom line” (referring to Greenland’s sovereignty) while balancing U.S. security concerns in the Arctic.

Earlier this month, Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers agreed in Washington during meetings with Vice President Vance and Blinken to establish a working group aimed at resolving disagreements with the U.S.

Regarding the future direction of negotiations, Rubio expressed a positive attitude. He said that although there is still much work to be done, he believes a good outcome will ultimately be achieved. However, he did not disclose details about participants or the meeting location.

Currently, the U.S. military base in Greenland is located in Pituffik in northwest Greenland. According to the defense agreement reached between the U.S. and Denmark, the U.S. can expand the base with the approval of Greenland and Denmark.

Nathanielsen stated in an interview that Greenland and Denmark have “no objections” to NATO establishing a permanent presence in Greenland to enhance Arctic security, but they “still need to understand what issues the U.S. perceives and where these issues are specifically located.”

(Article source: Yicai)