After meeting with President Trump’s top aides, Danish officials say they will form a working group to talk through U.S. security concerns about control of Greenland.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Denmark’s foreign minister says there still is a fundamental disagreement between his country and President Trump over the Danish territory of Greenland.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Lars Lokke Rasmussen met with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. After the meeting, he said it is clear that Trump wants to, quote, conquer the territory. But the two sides did agree to form a working group. In a few minutes, we’ll hear from Senator Jeanne Shaheen about a bill that would stop the U.S. from taking over Greenland and any other NATO ally. But we’re going to start with Denmark and Greenland’s meeting with White House officials.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez has been following it all. So, Franco, I mean, it kind of was interesting how the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland were the first to speak after the meeting. So, I mean, what do they have to say?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah. I thought as well, A, the U.S. somewhat ceded the spotlight for a bit and actually allowed them to kind of get out front. And it was clear that the Danish foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, wanted to push back on the narrative being promoted by President Trump.
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LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN: It is not a true narrative that we have, you know, Chinese warships all around the place. According to our intelligence, we haven’t had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so.
ORDOÑEZ: Rasmussen did say they share some of Trump’s security concerns, but that didn’t mean the U.S. should acquire Greenland, which he said is, quote, “absolutely not necessary.” Denmark has said that the U.S. can add more military bases on the island, thanks to the 1951 agreement that grants wide latitude to the U.S. in terms of access. He said he hopes the high-level group, though, can find some kind of mutual understanding.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And the other part of this is that Rasmussen talked about this being an emotional issue for both Greenland and Denmark. So, I mean, how significant of a threat is this?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, is it a threat? Is it negotiations?
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
ORDOÑEZ: Trump is known for taking the most hard-line approach when he wants something. But Stewart Patrick, who served in the George W. Bush State Department, told me this is a really pivotal moment – that it’s testing rules of international order going back to the U.N. Charter that basically says you cannot use force against another country to acquire territory, especially smaller ones.
STEWART PATRICK: What the president of the United States is proposing to do is to throw the entire weight of the most powerful country in the world against a loyal ally that has shed, you know, as much blood and treasure over wars that the United States has been involved in over the past two decades to be able to get what he wants – to force them to give up Greenland.
ORDOÑEZ: Patrick, who’s now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is noting the high number of Danish soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan with American forces.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, I’m sure the president has been asked about this. What have we heard from him?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. He had a signing ceremony yesterday where he was pressed about what he was going to do, and he did not back down.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Greenland’s very important for the national security, including of Denmark. And the problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela.
MARTÍNEZ: So, Franco, mentioning Venezuela like that sounds a bit like an ominous warning.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, it really does. And Denmark is taking this very seriously. Denmark also announced plans to build its military presence in Greenland, and this seems to be more of an effort to push back against the idea that it cannot defend the territory. But Sweden and Germany also announced that they would be sending forces, which could also send a different kind of message to the U.S. And that is that Denmark is not alone.
MARTÍNEZ: That is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thanks a lot.
ORDOÑEZ: Thanks, A.
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