US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday the appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy for Greenland, with the mission, in the latter’s words, to make the Arctic territory “part of the United States”.
This decision constitutes an obvious snub on the part of the Danish authorities. The Nordic country’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, described it in statements to public television DR as “totally unacceptable”and announced that he would summon the American ambassador to a meeting. “There is an ambassador for the Kingdom of Denmark and that is who we interact with. When the president suddenly appoints a special envoy, we are very outraged.”
“We cannot annex a country”
Similarly, in a joint statement, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her counterpart from the semi-autonomous Greenland region, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said that “national borders and state sovereignty They are anchored in international law. These are fundamental principles. We cannot annex another country, even with arguments concerning international security. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the United States will not take it.”
The new American provocation comes in a context where numerous gestures by the American president have already recently generated tensions within the Danish government and society. During his transition period and the first months of his second term, Trump repeatedly asserted United States jurisdiction over Greenlandand even suggested that he did not rule out taking control of the island, rich in minerals and an important strategic position, by military means.
However, regarding Landry’s nomination, the president declared on social networks that “Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our national securityand will decisively advance our nation’s interests for the security and survival of our allies and, indeed, the entire world. »
Furthermore, the Danish authorities denounce that they were not informed in advance of the announcement, especially since there is no mention of the Arctic territory in the new national security strategy of the American administration.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also spoke out and said Arctic security is a “key priority” for the bloc and one for which cooperation from allies is sought. He also defended that “territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law”concluding: “We stand in complete solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland.”
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