COPENHAGEN, May 12 — Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Tuesday that negotiations involving the United States, Greenland and Denmark are still underway, but no agreement has been reached.
Speaking during a stage interview at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, Nielsen declined to go into details about the negotiation track, which comes after U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to take over Greenland, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.
“We are negotiating, but we do not have an agreement,” Nielsen was quoted as saying.
Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, is expected to travel to Nuuk next week to attend the “Future Greenland” conference. Nielsen said he did not yet know whether he would meet Landry during the conference.
“If he wants to meet, I need a clear agenda for what he wants,” Nielsen said, adding that Greenland has been under pressure for 15 to 16 months.
Nielsen stressed that Greenland’s position must be respected, saying the island is not for sale and will not accept threats of takeover.
At the same time, he said Greenland is ready to meet and negotiate with the United States on business cooperation, natural resource extraction and security, provided that Greenland is treated with respect.
The Greenlandic prime minister also said the prolonged process of forming a new Danish government was troubling for Greenland, as foreign policy and defense issues concern the Kingdom of Denmark as a whole, including both Greenland and Denmark. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
