A Greenlandic lawmaker has stressed that Greenland is “not for sale” as US President Donald Trump and senior administration officials renew their threat to seize the Danish territory.
Arja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament representing Greenland, welcomed the upcoming meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Danish and Greenlandic officials next week.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“I think it will be very important to find a solution,” she told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
However, Chemnitz stressed that Greenland’s position on autonomy remains unchanged. “Greenland is not for sale and Greenland will never be for sale,” she said.
Since taking office in January last year, Trump has repeatedly said he wants to occupy Greenland and emphasized its “strategic” importance in the Arctic region.
“From a national security perspective, we need Greenland. It’s very strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships everywhere. From a national security perspective, we need Greenland,” the US president told reporters on Sunday.
But President Trump’s push has drawn strong condemnation from Greenland and other key U.S. allies, including Denmark, the European Union and Canada.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden emphasized their commitment to “maintaining security, stability and cooperation in the Arctic.”
“Security in the Arctic is based on respect for the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law, including the inviolability of national borders,” the foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
“We jointly reiterate that matters concerning Denmark and Greenland are for Denmark and Greenland to decide solely.”
However, despite these objections, the Trump administration continues to hint at the possibility of occupying Greenland and refuses to rule out military action.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters Wednesday that “all options are always on the table for President Trump.”
“But let me just say that the president’s first choice has always been diplomacy,” she said.
“It’s important to find solutions”
Concerns about a U.S. military operation to take control of Greenland are growing after the Trump administration sent troops to Venezuela’s capital Caracas to abduct President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday after a months-long pressure campaign.
The abduction, condemned as a violation of international law, comes amid President Trump’s push to assert American dominance in the Western Hemisphere, in line with a 19th-century US policy known as the Monroe Doctrine.
Some experts say the US president’s plan to occupy Greenland is in line with that principle.
Asked Wednesday about the U.S. stance on Greenland, Rubio told reporters that President Trump was not the first to consider ways to “acquire” Greenland. He also did not rule out the possibility of using force.
“If a president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to respond by military means,” Rubio said.
It remains unclear who exactly will meet with Mr. Rubio next week to discuss the situation.
But Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeld said on Tuesday that she and her Danish counterpart, Lars Lökke Rasmussen, had requested a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State.
“The purpose of the meeting is to reflect important U.S. statements regarding Greenland,” Motzfeld wrote on social media.
Denmark’s Chemnitz lawmaker told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the planned talks are an opportunity to address growing tensions over the US position.
“I think it’s important to focus on diplomacy,” she said. “This is a very strange situation for us and many of us are worried about everything that has happened.”
But Chemnitz stressed that discussions should be held respectfully. “We need respect,” she said. “Diplomacy also requires respect.”
