US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged that Greenland is “for now” part of Denmark, but made it clear that Washington is still involved in negotiations about the Arctic island’s future role in Western security, writes Politico.
Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rubio avoided a direct answer to the question of whether Washington should acquire the territory under NATO control to protect it, instead pointing to talks with Greenland and Denmark about the island’s role in collective defense. The secretary of state said that talks are currently underway about using the island for collective defense, and called the island an important point in missile defense. He predicted that the talks could bring “some pretty good news.”
Rubio’s statements came shortly after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen unveiled the composition of her new government. Danish Foreign Minister
Lars Løkke Rasmussen also remains in office and is expected to be Copenhagen’s main representative
in talks with Washington over Greenland.
US President Donald Trump’s announcement in January of plans to take over Greenland rattled European allies and prompted Greenland to prepare defense plans in case the worst-case scenario of the Americans attempting to take over the island by military force.
Relations between NATO members deteriorated further when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on the last day of February, and several European capitals refused to provide Trump with military support. In April, Trump floated the idea of the US withdrawing from NATO and in early May ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops stationed there from Germany. Against this backdrop, Rubio has called the summit in June in The Hague a momentous occasion, predicting it could become the most important summit in the alliance’s history.
Read also: US Vice President: Europe won’t admit what it gave up in Greenland