Again, the Greenlanders have the impression that they are being ignored: in Nuuk, they are experiencing moments of disappointment, frustration and anger, following the draft agreement on the future of their island, negotiated without them by Donald Trump and the head of NATO, writes AFP on Thursday, in a report from the capital of the arctic territory that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
With two cups of cappuccino from a famous American coffee brand in hand, Niels Berthelsen paused for a moment, despite the frost whipping through the streets of the Greenlandic capital on Thursday morning.
“If there is to be an agreement on Greenland, Greenland must be invited to the negotiating table,” the 49-year-old told the French news agency.
“Nothing about Greenland without Greenland,” he repeated several times in what seemed like a heartfelt cry.
Wednesday's talks in Davos between US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte resulted in a “framework of agreement”, according to an announcement by the US leader, who covets the self-governing Danish territory.
A project about which not much is known – Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Thursday that he did not know its contents either – but which is unsatisfying to Greenlanders, who are worried about their right to self-determination.
Greenland PM says he doesn't know what deal Trump and Rutte made on island, but draws 'red line'
“Obviously the lessening of the military threat is a positive thing,” Berthelsen admitted. “But they could have very well made a deal by inviting Greenland to the negotiating table instead of Mark Rutte negotiating a deal with Trump himself. I think that's disrespectful on Mark Rutte's part.”
“I'm very disappointed that NATO made a deal with Trump without Denmark and Greenland,” said another Nuuk resident, Esther Jensen. “If decisions have to be made, they have to be made together with Greenland,” the woman added.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen assured that she had spoken with the NATO chief before and after the meeting with Trump and that she had consulted with the Greenlandic government.
“It would be nice if we could turn back time”
But with or without the consultation mentioned by Mette Frederiksen, Greenlanders do not take kindly to the fact that their future is being negotiated behind their backs.
“Nobody other than Greenland and Denmark has the right to conclude agreements regarding the island and the Kingdom of Denmark,” the Greenlandic prime minister insisted on Thursday at a press conference attended by many foreign journalists.
“Try to imagine what it means for the Greenlanders, for the people here – a peaceful people – to hear and see every day in the media that someone wants to take away their freedom,” Nielsen pointed out.
In Nuuk, some are wondering what really happened in Davos, the Swiss ski resort where Trump and Rutte attended the World Economic Forum.
“We know well that Trump has a tendency to overinterpret certain things,” testified Arkalo Abelsen, an 80-year-old retiree.
“When Rutte (…) confirms that they have discussed some possible solutions, then in Trump's mind that becomes an agreement,” he said, leaning on a crutch. “It's not a deal. There is no deal.”
The turbulence of the international current affairs and the pressing interest – which could have been lacking – for their territory put the calm of the Greenlanders to a severe test.
“Since Trump was re-elected president, we no longer know what can happen that day or the next day. Especially when he takes our country, as if it were a block of ice floating on the sea. It is very destabilizing. We feel powerless,” the pensioner confessed.
“My wife and I talk about it every day. We say how nice it would be if we could go back in time, before Trump. Back then, we could predict what was going to happen,” Arkalo Abelsen said.
Working in a travel agency, Susan Gudmundsdottir Johnsen, a 52-year-old woman, also aspires to a quieter future.
“From now on, we need calm and serenity,” she said.
A source's revelations about the deal negotiated by Trump and Rutte
The United States and Denmark will renegotiate their 1951 defense agreement on Greenland, a source close to the previous day's talks in Davos between Trump and Rutte told Agence France-Presse on Thursday.
According to this source, the framework agreement on Greenland announced by Trump on Wednesday will involve an increase in the contribution of the allies to the security of this Arctic island.
The U.S.-Danish defense agreement on Greenland, updated in 2004, allows almost full freedom of movement for U.S. troops on the Arctic island, but they must notify local authorities.
The United States currently has only one military base in Greenland, at Pittufik, in the north of the Arctic island, after having about ten such bases there during the Cold War. The Pittufik base has an important role in the American anti-missile defense system, notes Agerpres.
After weeks of aggressive statements in which he threatened to annex Greenland, even by force, if Denmark refused to sell it, US President Donald Trump vowed in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that he would not use force to annex Greenland, but insisted he maintained his goal of the US buying the strategically important Arctic island and called for “immediate negotiations”.
Later that day he announced that a “framework for a future agreement” had been agreed on Greenland, the content of which is still unclear, including regarding sovereignty over the island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
According to the head of the Danish government, the issue of Greenland's sovereignty was not addressed.
“We can negotiate all political aspects: security, investment, economy. But we cannot negotiate our sovereignty,” Mette Frederiksen indicated, adding that Denmark wants to continue “a constructive dialogue with its allies” on the security of Greenland and the Arctic, but respecting its “territorial integrity.”
The security of the Arctic will be strengthened, and the European states and NATO will contribute, according to the source cited by AFP.
And the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, confirmed, in a statement later given to the Reuters agency, that the agreement announced by Trump requires the allies to contribute more to the security of this region, and the results will be seen this year, but it is up to the military commanders to work out the concrete military details, without affecting the military aid to Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Mark Rutte claimed that the issue of exploiting Greenland's vast mineral resources was not raised with Trump in talks held in Davos on Wednesday, and negotiations will continue between the US on the one hand and Denmark and Greenland on the other.
Trump previously accused Denmark of neglecting the security of the Arctic region in the face of what he described as threats from Russia and China in the strategic region, thus motivating his intention to annex Greenland.
The White House leader also claimed that the American military presence established on this island since the Cold War is no longer sufficient.
On the other hand, Greenland is rich in mineral resources, including rare earths, which are essential for advanced technologies and military industries, and in which Trump has shown much interest since returning to the White House a year ago.
