{"id":246598,"date":"2026-01-15T19:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/246598\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T19:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:22:10","slug":"greenland-unity-frays-as-denmark-resists-us-push-for-arctic-control-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/246598\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenland unity frays as Denmark resists US push for Arctic control \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The stone facade of Copenhagen\u2019s Christiansborg \u2013 home to Denmark<\/a>\u2019s Folketinget parliament \u2013 looked solid as ever on a grey misty Thursday morning, even as tiny political fractures spread.<\/p>\n

Hours earlier, Denmark and Greenland<\/a> presented a united front in high-stakes talks in Washington over US<\/a> ambitions to control the Arctic island.<\/p>\n

Danish foreign minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen conceded that a \u201cfundamental disagreement\u201d remained with Washington over the largely self-governing island that, for three centuries, has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark.<\/p>\n

But the Danish visitor managed to kick the can down the road, announcing a \u201chigh-level\u201d working group to address US security concerns over Russian and Chinese presence in the region, while also respecting Danish \u201cred lines\u201d.<\/p>\n

Greenland\u2019s foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt, also in Washington for the talks, broke down during an interview on local TV on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very strong,\u201d she told broadcastwr KNR, \u201c[but] the past few days have been tough with all the preparations and the pressure, which is getting harder and harder.<\/p>\n

On Thursday morning some Greenland MPs shattered the Washington show of harmony with Denmark by demanding more lee-way for their country in talks with the US<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Irish Times view on Trump and Greenland: fundamental disagreementOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

For Aki-Matilda H\u00f8egh-Dam, who sits for the pro-independence Naleraq party in Copenhagen, such leeway would be a welcome \u201ctrust-building exercise\u201d for Greenlanders.<\/p>\n

Allowing \u201cGreenland talk to foreign actors without Denmark necessarily being present … will give a higher level of trust.<\/p>\n

\"ChristiansborgChristiansborg Palace, which houses the Danish parliament, in Copenhagen. Photograph: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cIn this way, Denmark will deal with what is happening closer to Denmark \u2013 for example, with Russia and Ukraine \u2013 while trusting that the Greenlandic government can live up to the protection of Greenland,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That is unlikely to happen. Such an arrangement is not provided for under the current set-up between Greenland and Denmark, with the latter retaining sole competence over defence, foreign and security policy. <\/p>\n

Denmark also finances one-fifth of Greenland\u2019s annual budget.<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark remained determined to \u201cprevent\u201d a US takeover of Greenland and would \u201ccontinue our efforts to prevent this scenario from becoming a reality\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Greenland\u2019s leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, reiterated that his island \u201cis not for sale\u201d, and praised the Washington agreement for outlining \u201cdialogue and diplomacy as the right way forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

Both leaders welcomed a growing consensus within Nato\u2019s European neighbours about strengthening their military presence in the Arctic.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, officers from Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France and the Netherlands all arrived in Nuuk, Greenland\u2019s capital, for a weeklong inspection.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The battle for Greenland: The billionaire behind Donald Trump\u2019s obsessionOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Back in Copenhagen, 21-year-old student Solveig said she hoped the Greenland question would be resolved soon \u2013 with full independence for the island, allowing it decide its future path alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is embarrassing hold-over from imperialist era that needs to be settled,\u201d she said. \u201cThough my parents wouldn\u2019t agree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anette, a 65 year-old healthcare worker, said most Danes felt indifferent towards Greenland, but she felt sorry for the uncertainty Greenlanders faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have ownership of Greenland, only Greenlanders can decide their future,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I see how many Greenlanders come here for cancer treatment \u2013 for free. I don\u2019t think the US would offer a better deal to Greenland as their 51st state, nor would they respect the natural environment that is so important for people there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keld, an 85-year-old retired reservist lieutenant said he felt most sorry for ordinary Americans living with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Denmark sees \u2018fundamental disagreement\u2019 with US on Greenland after White House talksOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger we used to respect the US, but now I simply don\u2019t understand the stupidity,\u201d he said outside the Christiansborg Palace.<\/p>\n

Inside, house speaker S\u00f8ren Gade announced that the red-and-white Greenland will flag over parliament on Friday.<\/p>\n

The decision was a show of solidarity with the island on the other side of the Atlantic, he said. <\/p>\n

Left unsaid: the Greenland flag as a show of Danish determination in advance of a much-anticipated Friday visit by US politicians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The stone facade of Copenhagen\u2019s Christiansborg \u2013 home to Denmark\u2019s Folketinget parliament \u2013 looked solid as ever on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[3025,969,93,3024,61,60,282,90],"class_list":{"0":"post-246598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-denmark","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-greenland","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-tv","15":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}