EU countries are secretly discussing resource extraction with Greenland
London. january 28th. INTERFAX - The EU and NATO countries have decided to refrain from publicly discussing President Donald Trump's words about plans to annex Greenland to the United States, but behind closed doors the European Union is exploring options for strengthening relations with Greenland in the field of resource extraction, the Financial Times (FT) reports, citing sources.
"The EU and NATO have taken a vow of silence on the Greenland issue after Denmark asked its allies to refrain from reacting to Donald Trump's threats to seize the island," the FT informs.
According to the newspaper's sources, Copenhagen's tactics of avoiding public confrontation with Trump "were closely coordinated with NATO and the EU."
"We believe that the tit-for-tat approach is useless. But we all adhere to basic principles such as national sovereignty and territorial integrity, which must be respected. We are ready, and the Danes know this, to confirm this if necessary," a senior EU official told the newspaper.
In addition, according to FT sources, "behind the scenes, senior officials in Brussels, Copenhagen and Nuuk are discussing how the EU could strengthen cooperation with Greenland in the field of energy and extraction of critical raw materials."
"There is a lot of covert work underway to figure out how we can strengthen cooperation with Greenland," one of the sources quoted the FT as saying.
The publication also notes that some EU officials "have expressed concern about whether Europe will be able to offer any serious response to Trump's threats against Greenland."
On Tuesday night, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that Denmark would strengthen Greenland's defense and invest about 2 billion euros in the defense of the Arctic region.
Last week, the FT, citing sources, reported that in mid-January, a telephone conversation took place between Trump and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, which demonstrated the radical differences between the parties.
According to the interlocutors of the publication, Trump insisted that he was serious about Greenland joining the United States. Prior to the conversation, many officials in Europe believed that Trump's statements on Greenland were a tactical move to gain more influence over the island.
At the same time, the Danish Prime Minister's office reported that Frederiksen told Trump that the people of Greenland would decide their own future, and Copenhagen wanted to do more to strengthen security in the Arctic. However, the FT reminds that after the conversation, she called a meeting of the heads of Danish companies to discuss Trump's threats, including imposing tariffs against Denmark.
In turn, the US National Security Council stated that "Trump has clearly expressed the importance of Greenland's security for the United States at a time when China and Russia are investing heavily in the Arctic region." The Security Council representative added that Trump not only wants to protect Washington's interests in the Arctic, but also "work with Greenland to ensure the mutual prosperity of both nations."
Trump had previously not denied the possibility of using military force to bring the island under American control.
Greenland already has a US Pituffik space base. The island is considered a central link in ensuring the security of the Arctic, the starting point for sea routes through the waters of the region, the territory where rare earth metals and other resources are located.
