Rutte's plan revealed. The US will get bases and raw materials, Denmark will retain its sovereignty

NATO chief Mark Rutte's proposal regarding Greenland includes respect for Danish sovereignty over this island, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing sources. Rutte's plan echoes the proposal that has been put forward by the Danes for a long time – the website noted.

The plan is to update the Greenland defense agreement made between the U.S. and Denmark in 1951. Under this defense cooperation agreement, US forces are stationed in Greenland.

The project also includes provisions on increasing the security of the island and NATO's activity in the Arctic, as well as additional work on raw materials, the sources said.

Golden Dome in Greenland. Trump resurrects 'Star Wars' in the Arctic

It also includes language on locating part of the US defense project, the Golden Dome, in Greenland and combating “malign external influences” from Russia and China.

Golden Dome is the project of a new anti-missile shield announced by Trump, which assumes placing some of its elements in space. It is to be an extension of the project initiated by Ronald Reagan, called by journalists the “Star Wars” program.

Axios emphasized that the idea presented by Rutte echoes the proposal put forward by the Danes for a long time. It assumes that Denmark will maintain its sovereignty over Greenland and at the same time allow the US to increase its military presence on the island.

Negotiations on the contract will start

High-level negotiations between the US, Denmark and Greenland on a potential agreement are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday evening, the NATO Secretary General said on Fox News that the issue of Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland was not the topic of his talks with the US president.

Trump said on Wednesday that a framework for a future agreement on Greenland had been developed based on his meeting with the NATO chief on Wednesday. He added that he would not impose tariffs on eight European countries, which were to come into force on February 1 in response to their attitude towards his claims regarding Greenland.

The president later avoided answering the question whether, according to the agreement on Greenland he announced, the US would take ownership of the island. However, he stressed that the US would receive everything it wanted and that it will be a “long-term” contract.

The US will get land for military bases

According to the New York Times, the agreement announced by the US president may include American sovereignty over small parts of Greenland, where military bases could be established. The interlocutors told the newspaper that the NATO Secretary General pursued this plan.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said details of the agreement still needed to be finalized by all parties involved and would only be made public once that work was completed.

“If this agreement is adopted, and President Trump very much hopes it will be, the U.S. will achieve all of its strategic goals in Greenland forever, at very little cost,” Leavitt said.

From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

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