NATO will be responsible for Greenland’s security under new U.S. deal, Danish official says
by Vaughn Cockayne · The Washington TimesNATO will also be responsible for Greenland’s security under a landmark U.S.-Denmark agreement announced by President Trump last week, the Danish foreign minister said.
Details about the agreement have not yet been made public. The pact is to be signed Tuesday by the leaders of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mr. Trump has insisted that it gives the U.S. more control over the Arctic island’s national security, something that has historically been completely under Copenhagen’s authority.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told state-owned broadcaster TV2 on Sunday that the agreement gives NATO the responsibility of looking after Greenland’s security.
“It will be in a form where responsibility for security in the Arctic is not only Danish or American,” Mr. Rasmussen told TV2. “It would be NATO that looks after the Arctic”.
It remains unclear whether, under the terms of the deal, NATO will have complete control over Greenland’s security or if it will be a shared responsibility between the alliance, the U.S. and Denmark.
The new agreement comes after months of political pressure from Mr. Trump, who has insisted that the U.S. should have near-total control over the island nation. He has said only Washington can provide the necessary military force to protect Greenland from China and Russia’s expansion in the Arctic.
Mr. Trump has floated the idea of annexing Greenland and has refused to rule out using military force to achieve his goals.
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Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has faced intense backlash in the U.S., Europe and Denmark. In Greenland, opposition to Mr. Trump’s threats was so intense that it helped several politicians score massive victories, including Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, whose Demokraatit party won last year’s election.
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Vaughn Cockayne
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