How Denmark and Greenland are navigating Trump’s threats

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Prime diplomats from Denmark and Greenland are incomes reward for his or her strategy in coping with U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to take over the Arctic island.

Whereas Trump ramped up his rhetoric this week, calling something lower than U.S. management of Greenland “unacceptable,” the international ministers of Denmark and Greenland laid out their case in Washington calmly and rationally, whereas firmly demonstrating that the president’s territorial ambitions are a no-go.

“We got here right here following various — how ought to I put it — outstanding public feedback on Greenland and Arctic safety,” stated Danish Overseas Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen at a information convention on Wednesday, selecting his adjective rigorously.

"It is clear that the president has this want of conquering … Greenland." Rasmussen stated. “We have now a special place.”

Denmark, a NATO nation, and Greenland, its semi-autonomous Arctic territory, are the most recent to face the problem of navigating the possibly treacherous path of diplomacy with the at-times undiplomatic and unpredictable Trump administration.

Liana Repair, a senior fellow for Europe on the Council on Overseas Relations, a Washington think-tank, says there are two colleges of thought on coping with Trump: one which you will need to present power to get him to again down, the opposite that you will need to finally make concessions due to the extent of U.S. energy.

WATCH | European NATO members ship troops to Greenland in face of Trump threats: European troops arrive in Greenland as Trump stands agency

As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to discuss eager to take over Greenland — even probably with drive — Denmark and a few of its European allies have deployed a small variety of troops to the semi-autonomous island. The transfer comes after a high-stakes diplomatic assembly in Washington between high Danish and Greenlandic diplomats and Trump’s emissaries.

With regards to the Greenland threats, Repair says Denmark and its European allies are utilizing a double-edged technique that comes with each.

“On the one facet, they're making an attempt to decrease the temperature with these conversations, however on the opposite facet, they're additionally making an attempt to discourage america,” she stated in an interview.

Small variety of troops, large significance The deterrence comes within the type of a number of NATO international locations sending navy employees to Greenland.

The numbers are small — 15 French troopers, 13 Germans, two Norwegians and an officer every from the U.Okay. and the Netherlands — however their strategic significance is big.

Repair says the transfer makes clear that the Europeans are severe about exhibiting that Greenland is a territory that belongs to a NATO member that the Trump administration can not take over.

In the meantime, the dialog a part of the two-pronged technique included Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt assembly with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A Greenlandic flag flies above a building overlooking the ocean" srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cec632a0-c741-4324-88ad-8ead7fb33785,1761432628597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C860%2C484%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cec632a0-c741-4324-88ad-8ead7fb33785,1761432628597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C860%2C484%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cec632a0-c741-4324-88ad-8ead7fb33785,1761432628597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C860%2C484%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/cec632a0-c741-4324-88ad-8ead7fb33785,1761432628597/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C860%2C484%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.7768595041322315" data-cy="image-img"/> A Greenlandic flag flies above a constructing overlooking the Davis Strait in Nuuk, Greenland. (Matisse Harvey/Radio-Canada) Rasmussen and Motzfeldt then held a information convention the place they made it clear that U.S. management of Greenland is a "pink line" that should not be crossed, meticulously poking holes in Trump’s arguments that it is a nationwide safety necessity.

They identified that an settlement in place for the reason that early days of the Chilly Conflict nonetheless permits the U.S. to station troops in Greenland. They provided to work with the U.S. to deal with Arctic safety by strengthening the Danish and NATO navy presence on the island.

And so they walked away from the assembly with a U.S. promise to determine a high-level working group within the coming weeks to debate frequent considerations.

'Properly-orchestrated diplomacy' Rachel Ellehuus, director basic of the Royal United Providers Institute, a global affairs think-tank in London, says this week’s Danish-Greenlandic diplomatic effort may have ended badly with out the appropriate ways.

“Denmark and Greenland’s relative success in Washington was not simply achieved,” Ellehuus wrote in a commentary on the institute’s web site.

“Behind it lies months of cautious, well-orchestrated diplomacy that validates the worth of statecraft and provides vital classes on take care of the present U.S. administration and its single-minded president,” she stated.

WATCH | What Trump's push for Greenland means for Canada: How Canada must be watching the Greenland scenario

For The Nationwide, CBC chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault asks Munk College of World Affairs founding director Janice Stein how Canada must be watching the scenario in Greenland because the U.S. angles to take management of semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. Garrett Martin, a professor at American College’s College of Worldwide Service in Washington, says that by avoiding additional ratcheting up of tensions, Denmark and Greenland scored one thing of a win this week and should have purchased themselves a while.

“The important thing actually is strategic persistence,” stated Martin in an interview. “I feel that is their finest guess, to play the clock, put ahead a optimistic case.”

He says Denmark and Greenland have been efficient at mustering assist in Congress and among the many U.S. public.

Polling suggests solely a tiny fraction of Individuals would assist taking Greenland by drive, whereas buying the island by way of non-military means will get solely lukewarm assist.

Amid Trump’s threats, a bipartisan group within the Home put ahead a invoice this week that may forestall navy motion towards a NATO member with out Congressional approval, whereas Republican and Democrat senators co-sponsored a invoice that may explicitly outlaw any use of navy sources to take management of a NATO member’s territory.

Martin says the truth that there seems to be no daylight between Greenland and the Danish on the difficulty of American management of the island helps their trigger.