By Terje Solsvik and Kanishka Singh
OSLO/Washington (Reuters) -Denmark agreed on Friday to discuss the Arctic region with Washington, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said after his first call with the top diplomat in President Donald Trump’s administration, which wants to control Greenland.
Rasmussen and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a 20-minute conversation in a “good and constructive tone” in which Ukraine, European security and the situation in the Middle East were discussed, the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The State Department said late Friday that Rubio “reaffirmed the strength of the relationship” between the two countries in the call.
Trump has expressed interest in making Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, part of the United States. He has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.
Greenland’s strategic location along the shortest route from Europe to North America, crucial to the U.S. missile warning system, has made it a priority for Trump.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on January 15 that she had spoken to Trump on the phone and told him that it was up to Greenland itself to choose independence.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the call between Frederiksen and Trump last week was fiery, with Trump insisting he was serious about his determination to take over Greenland. European officials were quoted in the newspaper. Trump took office on January 20th.
“Arctic security was not on the agenda, but it was agreed that it would be discussed at a later date between the United States, Denmark and Greenland, the Danish ministry said on Friday.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has ramped up a push for independence, has repeatedly said the island is not for sale and it is up to its people to decide its future.
While Trump aired the possibility of taking over Greenland in 2019, during his first term in the White House, his refusal to rule out the use of military or economic power has surprised many Danes.
