US delegation seeks to lower US-Denmark-Greenland tensions amid Trump\u2019s threats of tariffs and control claims
\n Washington
\nUS President Donald Trump says he may impose tariffs on countries that do not back the United States\u2019s claim to control Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital.
\nSince Trump returned to the White House in January, he has repeatedly insisted that the US control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in US hands would be \u201cunacceptable\u201d.
\nDuring an unrelated event at the White House about rural healthcare, he recounted on Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
\n\u201cI may do that for Greenland, too,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI may put a tariff on countries if they don\u2019t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,\u201d he said.
\nTrump has said Greenland is vital to US security because of its strategic location and large supply of minerals, and has not ruled out the use of force \u2060to take it, but he had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.
\nLater, Trump reiterated his reasons for wanting to control Greenland and said he was in talks with NATO about the island.
\n\u201cWe need Greenland for national security very badly. \u2029If we don\u2019t have it, we have a big hole in national security, especially when it comes to what we\u2019re doing in terms of the Golden Dome,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n
Eyes on Russia
\nThe head of Denmark\u2019s Joint Arctic Command in Greenland told Reuters on Friday he is focused on countering potential Russian activity, not defending against US military threats.
\n\u201cMy focus is not toward the US, not at all. My focus is on Russia,\u201d Major-General Soren Andersen said on board a Danish warship in Nuuk, Greenland\u2019s capital.
\nAndersen dismissed suggestions of conflict between NATO allies, describing such a scenario \u200das \u201chypothetical\u201d.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t see \u2060a NATO ally attacking another NATO ally,\u201d he said. Referring to Denmark\u2019s defence plans, he added, \u201cWe work on those, but it\u2019s a normal thing for us to do. My task is to work up here for the defence of the kingdom together with NATO.\u201d
\nIn response to US concerns, European nations dispatched small numbers of military personnel to Greenland this week in preparation for the Arctic Endurance NATO military exercise.
\nThe Arctic Command has invited the US to participate in Arctic Endurance, which this year will test forces \u200bin winter conditions.
\n\u201cWe had a meeting today with a lot of NATO partners, including the \u200cUS, and invited them to participate in this exercise,\u201d Andersen said, adding that he did not yet know whether the US would also join. Denmark did not invite the Americans to join a similar exercise in September.
\nDenmark\u2019s Joint Arctic Command, responsible for defence around Greenland and \u200cthe Faroe Islands, conducts surveillance and search-and-rescue missions, utilising patrol vessels, aircraft, helicopters, and satellite technology. It also fields the Sirius dog-sledge patrol for long-range Arctic operations.
\nAndersen said \u200cthere were no Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland, though he added \u2060that a Russian research vessel was located 310 nautical miles away. \u201cThat\u2019s the closest one,\u201d he said, adding that NATO allies maintain \u201ca good picture of the situation up here\u201d.
\n\u201cWe actually expect an increase in Russian activities in the coming years, and \u2026 we have to start training and increase the presence \u200chere in the Arctic to protect NATO\u2019s northern border,\u201d Andersen said.<\/p>\n
Sharply diverging views
\nEarlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.
\nThat encounter did not resolve the big differences, but did produce an agreement to set up a working group \u2014 on whose purpose Denmark and the White House then offered sharply diverging public views.
\nEuropean leaders have insisted that only Denmark and Greenland can decide matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.
\nA bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers met the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen on Friday, seeking to \u201clower the temperature\u201d with assurances of congressional support to recognise Greenland as an ally, not property, after Trump\u2019s threats to seize the Arctic island.
\nEuropean nations this week sent small numbers of military personnel to the island at Denmark\u2019s request.
\nThe 11-member US delegation, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, met Danish Prime \u200bMinister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen, as well as Danish and Greenlandic parliamentarians.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of rhetoric, but there\u2019s not a \u200dlot of reality in the current discussion in Washington,\u201d Coons told reporters following the meetings, saying the politicians would seek to \u201clower the temperature\u201d on returning home.<\/p>\n
Looking for a deal
\nTrump\u2019s special envoy to Greenland also said on Friday he plans to visit the Danish territory in March and believes a deal can be made.
\n\u201cI do believe that there\u2019s a deal that should \u200dand \u2060will be made once this plays out,\u201d Jeff Landry told Fox News in an interview on Friday, as the \u200bUS delegation met the Danish and Greenlandic leaders.
\n\u201cThe president is \u200cserious. I think he\u2019s laid \u200cthe markers down. He\u2019s \u2060told Denmark what he\u2019s looking for, and now it\u2019s a matter \u200cof having Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio and Vice President JD \u200dVance make a deal.\u201d
\nAl Jazeera\u2019s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, Landry\u2019s upcoming trip would reveal more about what will happen between the US and Greenland than Trump\u2019s comments on tariffs and NATO.
\n\u201cThere may well be discussions going on. \u2029It doesn\u2019t move the situation forward at this point. But it gives the idea of doing something, of being dynamic,\u201d Fisher said.
\nLandry \u201cwill get a warm reception as a representative of the United States, a close ally of Denmark,\u201d he added. \u201cBut if he pushes the idea that he wants the United States to take over Greenland, he will be met with what was described by the Danish Foreign Minister during his meeting with the Vice President as a \u2018red line.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US delegation seeks to lower US-Denmark-Greenland tensions amid Trump\u2019s threats of tariffs and control claims Washington US President Donald Trump says he may impose tariffs on countries that do not back the United States\u2019s claim to control Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-526254","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n