Denmark and Greenland leaders meet Marco Rubio at Munich Security Conference as US pushes greater influence over Greenland’s Arctic security
MUNICH: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen will discuss Greenland with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, they said.
Since returning to the White House last year, US President Donald Trump has argued that Washington needs to control Greenland — an autonomous Danish territory — for American national security.
“There will be a relatively brief meeting with the (Greenlandic) prime minister, the (Danish) prime minister, and the American secretary of state,where I hope and believe they’ll confirm that the process we’ve started is a good one and should continue,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish media as he arrived at the conference.
Frederiksen told Danish news agency Ritzau: “We have agreed to hold several meetings with American politicians, including the secretary of state, also (about) Greenland.”
Last month, Trump backed down from his threats to seize Greenland after striking a “framework” deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington’s security concerns in the Arctic but details have not been made public.
A first meeting has already taken place and a second one is due soon, Rasmussen said.
“It could well be difficult, but it’s important to pursue that course, and I hope — believe — that the brief meeting later today with the US secretary of state will confirm it.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen meanwhile confirmed he would be taking part in Friday’s meeting with Rubio.
“We have planned a meeting with Marco Rubio,” he told Danish television TV2.
“We have been at the heart of a major debate on security in our region, and from the outset we said that we were ready to assume our share of responsibility in this regard,” he said upon his arrival at the Munich conference.
NATO has launched a mission aimed at beefing up security in the Arctic, for which Denmark will provide F-35 fighter jets, the Danish defence ministry said Friday.
In Munich, Frederiksen reiterated her call for Europe to increase its defence at a time when the US is disengaging.
“The Americans have been very honest — from Trump’s inauguration speech to a new security strategy and a new defence strategy, the threats against Greenland — everything points in one direction, namely that the US, unfortunately, is moving away” from Europe, she said.
The Sun Malaysia
