After hopes of bridging the rift between Europe and the US at the Ankara summit were thwarted by President Donald Trump’s renewed digs at Greenland, sources warn that attempts to engage with the US leader are proving fruitless.
The summit appeared set to be a unifying event after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised the US’s actions on Iran and noted the positive progress resulting from Trump’s pressure on European allies regarding defence, but all hopes were dashed.
Yesterday, after touching down, Trump once again reiterated his statement from March that Greenland, despite being part of the Danish Realm – which also includes Denmark and the Faroe Islands – “should be controlled by the United States.” He also expressed discontent with Denmark’s defence policy regarding the island.
According to Trump, Copenhagen is not allocating sufficient funds to provide effective support for Greenland, thereby leaving Greenland vulnerable to Russian and Chinese ships, which are active in these Arctic waters.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, reaffirmed her position and criticised Trump’s remarks.
“Greenland is, of course, not for sale. We are a sovereign state and we need everyone to respect our territorial integrity,” she said, noting that “The Greenlanders do not want to be part of the United States.”
Indeed, numerous polls conducted amongst Greenland’s residents show strong opposition to becoming part of the US. A poll carried out by Verian for the newspapers Berlingske and Sermitsiaq showed that 85% of Greenlanders were opposed, whilst only 6% supported the initiative. A later poll, carried out by Sune Steffen Hansen for the Copenhagen Post, upheld this trend: 76% believe that coming under US control would be of no benefit to Greenland.
Today, the leaders will begin official proceedings at around 11.15 a.m. at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s primary decision-making body, with Trump and Frederiksen sitting at the same table, although it is highly unlikely that the issue of Greenland will be included on the official agenda. In the meantime, sources warn that Trump’s rhetoric risks undermining NATO’s authority and worsening the security situation.
“I hope they cancel next year’s summit; two more years of this with Trump will be so damaging to NATO and security,” sources said, lamenting that the alliance’s attempts to placate Trump are not working. “Trump only wants to pile on the pressure, and he’s just getting even more outspoken.”
