The first information revealed about the compromise found by Trump and Rutte for Greenland: “The US will achieve all its goals”
The discussed plan, which has not been finalized, could allow the US to build new military bases on the island and establish “defense zones” that it would control, said several sources cited by US publications New York Times and Axios.
The plan for Greenland discussed Wednesday by President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Marc Rutte does not call into question the principle of sovereignty over the island, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told the US website Axios.
The information comes after Trump announced late Wednesday that a solution had been found to resolve the Greenland crisis.
The plan includes updating the “Greenland Defense Agreement” signed in 1951 between the US and Denmark, which allowed the US to build military bases on the island and establish “defense zones” if NATO deemed it necessary, according to Axios.
It also includes sections on increasing security in Greenland and NATO's work in the Arctic, as well as additional work on raw materials, the sources said.
The proposal also includes provisions to locate the “Golden Dome”, Trump's desired anti-missile shield, in Greenland and combat the “malign external influence” of Russia and China.
“If this deal goes through, and President Trump is very bullish about it, the US will achieve all of its strategic objectives with respect to Greenland at very little cost, forever,” the two sources said.
The idea for Greenland, inspired by the British sovereign bases in Cyprus
According to the New York Times, citing senior Western officials familiar with the talks, before Trump's announcement, officials discussed the possibility of a territorial compromise in meetings on Wednesday in Brussels.
Officials said Rutte sought a compromise this week, but did not know whether the concept of the United States having some control over small areas in Greenland for military bases — so-called defense zones — was part of the framework announced by Trump.
One of the officials who attended the meetings compared the concept to the United Kingdom's bases in Cyprus, which are considered British territory. A second official briefed on the talks also confirmed that the idea for Greenland was inspired by British sovereign bases in Cyprus, the New York Times writes.
“Nothing About Us Without Us”
Asked to provide details on the framework announced by Trump, NATO said in a statement that “negotiations between Denmark, Greenland and the United States will continue with the aim of ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland”.
Rutte did not elaborate on the possible framework. Allison Hart, Rutte's spokeswoman, said only that he “did not propose any compromise on sovereignty during his meeting with the president in Davos”.
Denmark welcomed the de-escalation of the situation. Denmark's foreign minister said he hoped the talks would address Trump's concerns about Greenland.
“What is important to us is to conclude this process in a way that respects the Greenlandic people,” he said.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, however, rejected Trump's claims about the potential deal with NATO.
“What we see these days in Trump's statements is completely absurd. NATO has absolutely no mandate to negotiate anything without us Greenlanders,” she said in a social media post.
“Nothing about us, without us,” she added, saying: “It creates total confusion.”
