A Danish foreign minister said Wednesday Denmark is “open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can cooperate, possibly even more closely than we already do, to ensure that American ambitions are fulfilled,” multiple outlets reported, just one day after President-elect Donald Trump made a private visit to Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory coveted by Trump Sr. and which hopes to one day be independent but remains dependent on Copenhagen for now.
the United States and NATO had “legitimate” interests in the region, saying “in conjunction with the melting of the Arctic and new shipping lanes opening up, we are unfortunately also seeing an increase in great power rivalry.” Greenland is part of Denmark, has representatives in the Danish parliament and its foreign relations are controlled by Denmark, though there has been a push for greater autonomy within the territory. Løkke Rasmussen also noted “Greenland has its own ambitions” and said “if they materialize, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States,” The comments from the Danish diplomat followed a Tuesday press conference from Trump in which he said, “We need Greenland for national security purposes” and would not commit to not using military force to acquire it or the Panama Canal. Trump also questioned whether Denmark has a right to Greenland on Tuesday, saying, “nobody even knows if they have any right, title or interest.