Professor: Trump dreams of expanding the territory and Greenland is the only obvious option

Donald Trump says again and again that the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons.

However, many find it difficult to make sense of these statements, as the United States already has extensive powers for military activity in Greenland to protect the United States.

Professor of international politics at the University of Copenhagen Ole Wæver tells Sermitsiaq that the reason for Trump's focus on Greenland is probably because he dreams of becoming the president who expands the US's territory for the first time in many years:

- In both Greenland and Denmark, we wishful thinking that the real explanation is security or resources, because then we can find solutions. But when you look closer, it just doesn't make sense. So the arrow points to the crazier explanation that expansion of the US is the actual goal, Ole Wæver tells Sermitsiaq.

- Getting nowhere with Canada

And unfortunately, this puts Greenland in a very serious situation:

- Greenland is unfortunately in the difficult situation that there is certainly a part of Donald Trump that has a dream of becoming the one who expands the territory.

- And Greenland is the only option, says Ole Wæver.

He explains that although the US has just intervened militarily and removed the president of Venezuela, and Trump has threatened a number of other countries, including Canada and Panama, Greenland is a special case:

- He hasn't annexed Venezuela, and he's not getting anywhere with Canada. So if he really wants to expand the territory, Greenland is the only option, and that's why this pressure isn't going away.

The ignorance is monumental

Ole Wæver's analysis is that there is very little substance in Donald Trump's statements about Greenland, and therefore he does not believe there is reason for acute panic in Greenland:

- There is no problem for the US that needs to be solved with this, so they are in no hurry.

Ole Wæver assesses that Greenland and Denmark have done the right thing in responding to the threats, including in getting allies to support the Kingdom and showing Trump that annexation of Greenland could be costly and devastating for the NATO alliance.

Ole Wæver makes this point about Greenland's role:

- For Greenland, I think it is incredibly important to continue to signal that there is no Greenlandic desire to become American.

- The ignorance about this is monumental in the USA, and that means that Americans can believe many things, and in the wild confusion, only Greenland itself can describe that it wants independence - and that the path to that is through the relationship with Denmark.

- A lot of Americans really believe that everyone in the world's greatest dream is to become an American. So "no thanks" should be said loudly and often.

Advocating negotiations with the US

Naalakkersuisut and other Greenlandic politicians have expressed a desire to enter into dialogue with the Americans about Trump's statements.

Ole Wæver believes that it would be a good move to call for clarification on what the Americans want, but he strongly advises against Greenland on its own or Denmark and Greenland jointly starting direct negotiations with the United States:

- From international politics and the foreign policy experiences of smaller Nordic countries, it is a golden rule that one should avoid having a small country and a large country sitting alone and negotiating.

- You have to think very carefully before you embark on bilateral negotiations when you are so unequal. Countries like Greenland and Denmark are much better served by things being wrapped up in a common framework, where other countries are involved, says Ole Wæver, who can understand the desire to understand the Americans more closely – precisely because their statements are so messy and illogical.

Ole Wæver also warns against believing that the United States can provide a shortcut to Greenland's independence:

- The law we have now confirms that the Greenlanders are a people with the right to national self-determination, and the day they want it, they shall have it, says Ole Wæver and continues:

- Once you become part of the United States, you are not allowed to leave it again.