Negotiations on Greenland continue between Denmark and the United States, with progress but no agreement

Donald Trump had multiplied threats against the autonomous Danish territory in January, as he wished to take control of it, before turning his attention elsewhere.

International news has almost made us forget about this eventful episode of American diplomacy under Donald Trump. However, discussions between the governments of Greenland, Denmark, and the United States continue regarding the autonomous Danish territory, coveted by the American president, without reaching an agreement, said the Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen on Tuesday, May 12.

“It’s hard for me to go into details of the discussions within the working group, but we have made some progress in the right direction”, said Jens Frederik Nielsen during the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. “We are negotiating, but we don’t have an agreement”, added the official, who ensures that “we have been ready since the beginning to do more, to take on more responsibilities in terms of national or international security. Our only requirement is respect.”

After a beginning of the year marked by the American president’s desires to “take control” of the Arctic region, Copenhagen and Nuuk had a first meeting with Washington and then the establishment of a working group to discuss American concerns, particularly their military presence. A defense agreement from 1951, updated in 2004, gives almost free rein to American armed forces to deploy facilities in Greenland, provided they inform the authorities beforehand.