Its prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, is visiting in an attempt to show her support for the Arctic Circle island, which the US president wants to annex.
Upon her arrival at the airport in the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, Frederiksen was received by the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The two leaders embraced on the runway before leaving by car.
Direct from Brussels to Nuuk
Frederiksen flew directly to Nuuk from Brussels, where she had earlier met NATO chief Mark Rutte to discuss ways the military alliance can boost security in the wider Arctic Circle region.
“We are preparing the next steps,” Frederiksen told reporters as she walked alongside Nielsen in downtown Nuuk. “First of all I am here to show our strong support to the people of Greenland at a difficult time.”
What came before
On Thursday, Trump said he had secured full and permanent US access to Greenland after talks with Rutte, who stressed that the allies must step up their efforts to prevent threats from Russia and China. US military forces already have broad treaty access to Greenland, although Washington has reduced its presence there since the Cold War to just one small base.
The island’s future has sparked a crisis in transatlantic relations after Trump called for Greenland to become a US territory, refused to rule out the use of military force to acquire it and announced new tariffs against dissenting European countries.
The crisis subsided after Trump made it clear in his Davos speech that he would not use military force and withdrew his threat of tariffs.
“We agree that NATO must increase its engagement in the Arctic Circle. Defense and security in the Arctic is about the whole alliance,” Frederiksen said in a social media post, alongside a photo of herself with Rutte in Brussels.
Rutte said he was working with the Danish leader to strengthen deterrence and defence.
Action plan drawn up by Denmark and USA
The Danish foreign minister said Danish and US diplomats met in Washington on Thursday to draw up an action plan.
“We will not announce when these (future) meetings will take place because now we need to remove the drama … we need a calm process,” said Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
A source familiar with the matter said Rutte and Trump agreed to further talks between the US, Denmark and Greenland to renew a 1951 agreement that regulates US military presence and access to the island.
