The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on Thursday (3) a greater defense collaboration in the Arctic with the United States during a visit to Greenland, and firmly rejected the desire of the Americans to attach the Danish territory.
Frederiksen’s visit occurs after months of tension between Washington and Copenhagen due to the repeated statements of President Donald Trump that Arctic Island should become part of the United States.
At a press conference with the new Greenland Prime Minister Frederiksen moved to English to go directly to the United States, inviting them to strengthen security in Arctic along with Denmark and Greenland.
“I would like to take this opportunity to send a message directly to the United States of America,” Frederiksen said aboard a military ship with snowfall in the background.
“No, but from the world order we built together through the Atlantic throughout generations. Another country cannot be attached, not even with a security argument,” she said.
His comments were made shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen found himself on the sidelines of an NATO meeting in Brussels.
According to Rasmussen ,.
Rubio reaffirmed the “strong relationship” between the US and Denmark, the state department said in a statement after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Greenland’s new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won last month’s parliamentary elections, said at the press conference that it was important that Denmark and Greenland would remain united in a situation of such external pressure, according to the Sermitsiaq newspaper.
The US Vice President, last Friday and accused Denmark of not doing a good job to maintain the safety of the island. He suggested that the US would better protect strategically localized territory.
Frederiksen said at the time that Vance’s description of Denmark “was not fair.”
On Thursday, she outlined Denmark’s safety commitments, including new Arctic ships, long-range drones and satellite capacity, and said Denmark would announce more investments.
“If you want to be more present in Greenland, Greenland and Denmark are ready and if they want to strengthen security in the Arctic, just like us, then let’s do it together,” she said.
