At the start of the year, it appeared that Donald Trump would stop at nothing to acquire Greenland from Denmark. He often referred to the island as ‘America’s newest state’, and his rhetoric on the matter alienated many allies in Europe. However, things haven’t exactly gone to plan for the president.
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Donald Trump hails new security agreement – which simply already existed
Over the weekend, the Trump Administration announced that an agreement had been reached with the Danish authorities, in which the US had now ‘secured permanent control over its security needs’ in Greenland. The man himself also stated that, with this deal, all concerns had been addressed:
“This solution is a great one for the United States of America, Denmark, Greenland, and all of our Allies. We look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland toward a magnificent future with respect to this large, and highly strategic, parcel of land.” | Donald Trump
Full details of the agreement are set to be made public later in the week. However, it’s understood that the deal hammered out between all parties gives America guarantees on security, allowing US forces to build more military bases and deploy troops across locations in Greenland.
Has America taken control of Greenland? Not by a long shot…
The MAGA movement has hailed the deal. But those claiming that Trump has ‘finally acquired Greenland’ are way, way off the mark. It has, in fact, been lauded as a diplomatic coup by Danes, Greenlanders, and wider neutral parties – all of whom believe the president has been successfully placated.
Experts have pointed to the 1951 Defence of Greenland Treaty, ratified in Copenhagen after the World War II. The pact allows the US to build tactical facilities and allow access for their armed forces, all while respecting Denmark’s sovereignity of the land. As one former Danish MP puts it, this has been the case for 75 years…
“It does seem that the US has mostly gotten things that they already had and can now rule out scenarios that were never going to happen. China and Russia will still never be allowed to have military bases in Greenland. America continues to have the right to have military bases like they have had since 1951.” | Rasmus Jarlov
‘The agreement STRENGTHENS Greenland and Denmark’
Olivier Schmitt, a Professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, also believes that Donald Trump has been convinced into signing an agreement which remains largely unchanged, stating that Denmark is happy for Trump to ‘tweet playing as the tough guy’, as the deal remains in their favour.
“The agreement legally strengthens the Greenlandic and Danish red lines on their sovereignty, and reaffirms a military agreement that the United States has already benefited from for decades.”
“The Danish strategy has consisted in ‘technicizing’ the issue as much as possible to take it out of political hysteria, and they are perfectly fine with a Trump tweet playing the tough guy as long as the substance of the matter remains to the advantage of Nuuk and Copenhagen.” | Olivier Schmitt