Europe's rejection of US President Donald Trump and his demand to take over Greenland has had a major impact on the fact that there is now hope for an amicable solution.
This is stated by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M).
The announcement comes after Thursday's foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, where Greenland was part of the agenda.
- I gave a brief on where we are. It was in a safe room without mobile phones, so that it could be confidential, so it makes no sense for me to share details here, says Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
However, he states that he used the opportunity to thank the other EU countries for their support for Denmark and Greenland.
Løkke: Many things influenced the president
- I have no doubt at all that when we are now back where we were 15 days ago, where we can have a civilized negotiation process with the Americans, it is, among other things, because Europe has backed out, says Løkke.
He also points out that US Congress members have clearly rejected Trump's thoughts about annexing Greenland.
- The American business community and the stock market also reacted. I think there are many things that have led the American president to say a few days ago that what was agreed upon with Rubio and Vance is the recipe we are following, says Løkke.
He is thus referring to a crucial meeting in Washington in mid-January.
Here, Lars Løkke Rasmussen met with Greenland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, US Vice President, J.D. Vance, and US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
At the meeting, the parties agreed to establish a working group that would meet American security interests and respect Denmark and Greenland's refusal to an American annexation of Greenland.
First meeting held: Constructive discussions
On Wednesday, the first meeting of the working group was held at the level of department heads from the Danish and Greenlandic sides.
According to Løkke, on the opposite side of the table sat representatives from both the US State Department and the Vice President's office.
- These were constructive discussions, and it has been agreed that we will meet again, says Løkke.
He does not want to go into detail about what was discussed at the meeting, but states that Denmark shares the United States' security concerns in the Arctic, where both Russia and China want a greater presence.
To find a solution, Denmark is ready to expand the defense agreement with the United States on Greenland from 1951.
- 1951 is quite a few years ago. Drones didn't exist then, and space didn't matter, so of course the world was different.
/ritzau/
