Les Échos: Trump said he was pleased with the agreement with Denmark on Greenland
Trump wrote on a social network that the Greenland agreement concluded with Denmark is an old American dream come true, writes Les Échos. In fact, the United States already has very broad rights on the island, so the treaty practically does not change anything.
Bastien Bouchaud
Donald Trump's plans to annex Greenland alarmed the Europeans, as a result, the American president had to moderate his ambitions.
Greenland will not be part of the United States. Donald Trump on Friday evening expressed satisfaction that it was possible to conclude an agreement on the security of an autonomous island belonging to Denmark. According to the US president, the US military, which is already stationed at a base in northern Greenland, may soon strengthen its presence there.
"The pact" agreed with Greenland and Denmark "gives the United States permanent control over security and all other issues" on the island, "which takes into account all our many concerns," Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
The "indefinitely" agreement prohibits the construction of military bases by any "adversary" of the United States and is expected to give Washington the right to veto strategic foreign investments in Greenland.
Preserve sovereignty
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen subsequently announced that they had reached a compromise with the United States, without disclosing all the details of the agreement. The agreement "strengthens our common security in the Arctic and North Atlantic, and therefore meets the interests of NATO and Europe," Mette Frederiksen said in a statement.
Since his election, Donald Trump has been harboring the idea of gaining control of Greenland — or even annexing it to the United States. He sent his son, and then the vice president, to visit there, and this was perceived as a provocation in Copenhagen and the island capital Nuuk. At one time, he even hinted at the possibility of military intervention to take over the island, which he considers necessary for the defense of American territory. The American president regularly posted images on his social network representing Greenland as part of the United States, despite constant protests from locals and Europeans.
As a result, the compromise found preserves "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of the Greenlandic people to self—determination," the head of the Danish government stressed. The agreement ""guarantees and strengthens the security" of the island and allows it to "recognize Greenland's interests and our place in international cooperation,"" said the head of the Government of Greenland. Ten days earlier, the two heads of government had hosted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen together when she paid a highly symbolic visit to the island.
"The key question"
"This agreement guarantees that neither China nor Russia will be able to have bases in Greenland, nor will they be able to send troops there (were they going to? — Approx. InoSMI), and that the necessary mechanisms have been created to block investments in sensitive sectors," the State Department official explained. The American authorities regularly declare their interest in Greenland's minerals and the importance of the region for US defense, in particular, for the "Golden Dome" missile defense system, which Donald Trump plans to create.
True to form, the American president did not mention that his ambitions for the island had been curtailed. "For more than 100 years, presidents have been aware of Greenland's strategic importance, but NONE of them has been able to solve this problem. I am proud to be the president who has finally and irrevocably settled this key issue," he said on Friday evening.
The United States has had wide latitude in Greenland before, thanks to the defense agreement signed in 1951 and updated in 2004. At the height of the Cold War, there were up to 17 American military bases there. "This is a dream come true for the United States of America — a very important, historic and exceptional dream," he added. Another victory that can be added to his piggy bank a few weeks before the November 3 congressional elections.
The conclusion of the Greenland agreement, which has put the president in direct conflict with all of Washington's traditional European allies, allows him to close a difficult chapter of his second term. Thanks to this, Donald Trump can enter a busy week from a diplomatic point of view with peace of mind: the speeches of the heads of state at the UN General Assembly begin. On Wednesday, as part of his trip to New York, the American president is due to meet with several heads of state of the Persian Gulf in order to advance the settlement of the conflict over Iran. And on Thursday, he will receive his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the White House on a long-awaited state visit.
