White House: European troops in Greenland will not influence Trump's intention to acquire the island

The presence of European troops in Greenland will not affect President Donald Trump's decision-making process or the goal of acquiring Greenland, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday. She informed that talks of working groups on this topic would be held every two-three weeks.

– I don't think troops from Europe would have any influence on the decision-making process or on his (Trump's – PAP) goal of acquiring Greenland, Leavitt said during a press briefing on Thursday. In this way, she referred to the announcements of numerous European countries, including Denmark, to send small troops to the island for exercises.

Leavitt also emphasized that Wednesday's meeting on Greenland between the vice president and the US secretary of state and the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland was “good and productive.”

– At this meeting, both sides agreed to establish a working group of people who will conduct technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland. From what I was told, these talks will take place every two-three weeks, she said.

However, she added that although talks would continue, “the president has clearly presented his priorities.”

– He wants the United States to acquire Greenland. He believes it is in our national security interest, she added.

The course of the talks was described in a similar way on Wednesday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greenland, Vivian Motzfeld. Rasmussen admitted that he had failed to convince the Americans to abandon their plans to acquire Greenland and that there were still “fundamental differences.”

– However, we agreed that it would be worth trying to sit down at a high level and explore whether there are opportunities to address the president's concerns while still respecting the Kingdom of Denmark's red lines. I don't know whether it will be possible, he added.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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