Nordic diplomats respond to the White House. “Claims about Greenland are false”

Diplomats from Nordic countries reject US President Donald Trump's claims about Russian and Chinese ships circling Greenland, which is how the American leader justifies the need to take over control of this island, the British daily Financial Times wrote on Sunday.

Two Nordic diplomats quoted by this newspaper who participated in NATO intelligence briefings said that neither Russian nor Chinese ships or submarines have been sighted around Greenland in recent years.

– It's simply not true that there are Chinese and Russians there. I saw the intelligence. There are no ships or submarines there, one senior diplomat said. The second, from another Nordic country, added: “The idea that the waters around Greenland are full of Russian and Chinese ships or submarines is simply not true.” They are in the Arctic, yes, but on the Russian side.

The FT also quoted the statement of Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, who rejected these claims. – It is not true that there is much activity from Russia or China around Greenland. It exists in our neighborhood. However, there is very little of it around Greenland, the minister told the Norwegian television station NRK over the weekend.

Donald Trump justifies the need for the US to take over Greenland in various ways – from national security reasons to the need to obtain the deposits there, but at every opportunity he mentions China and Russia. – Right now, Greenland is surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships. We need Greenland from a national security point of view, Trump said a week ago, and a few days later he added: – If we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland.

As noted by the FT, both Greenlandic and Danish officials say that since Denmark, under intense pressure from the United States, rejected an offer to help build several airports on the island in 2018, China has shown almost no interest in the area. “The United States is slowly but surely ensuring that Chinese influence disappears from Greenland,” a Greenland businessman said at the time. Last year, one Greenland official admitted: “There has been no action from the Chinese. They had small shares in some mining projects, but they do not continue them (PAP).

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