A Greenlandic lawmaker has stressed that Greenland is “not for sale” as United States President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration renew threats to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
Aaja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament representing Greenland, welcomed talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Danish and Greenlandic officials expected to take place next week.
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“I think it’s going to be very important to find solutions,” she told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
But Chemnitz stressed that Greenland’s position on its autonomy remains unchanged. “Greenland is not for sale, and Greenland never will be for sale,” she said.
Since taking office in January of last year, Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take over Greenland, stressing the island’s “strategic” importance in the Arctic region.
“We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” the US president told reporters on Sunday.
But Trump’s push has drawn strong rebukes from Greenland and Denmark, the European Union, and other major US allies, including Canada.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden stressed their commitment “to preserving security, stability and co-operation in the Arctic”.
“Security in the Arctic rests on respect for the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law, including the inviolability of borders,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
“We collectively reiterate that matters concerning Denmark and Greenland are for Denmark and Greenland to decide alone.”
Yet despite that opposition, the Trump administration continues to float the possibility of taking over Greenland – and it has refused to rule out the possibility of military action.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that “all options are always on the table for President Trump”.
“But I will just say that the president’s first option always has been diplomacy,” she said.
‘Important to find solutions’
Fears of a US military operation to take control of Greenland have grown after the Trump administration sent the US military into the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to abduct President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday after a months-long pressure campaign.
The abduction, which has been denounced as a violation of international law, comes amid Trump’s push to exert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere in line with a 19th-century US policy known as the Monroe Doctrine.
Some experts say the US president’s plan to take over Greenland aligns with that doctrine.
Asked about Washington’s stance towards Greenland, Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that Trump is not the first US president to look at how to “acquire” the territory. He also did not rule out using military force.
“If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means,” Rubio said.
It remains unclear who exactly will meet with Rubio next week for talks on the situation.
But Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said on Tuesday that she and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen had requested a meeting with the US secretary of state.
“The purpose of the meeting is to reflect the US’s significant statements on Greenland,” Motzfeldt wrote on social media.
Chemnitz, the Danish lawmaker, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the planned talks are an opportunity to address rising tensions over the US position.
“I think it’s important to focus on diplomacy,” she said. “This is a very strange situation for us, and many of us have been concerned about everything that has happened.”
