If you ask people in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, what they think of Donald Trump, you will get an unambiguous answer: one woman shows the middle finger to the Danish television camera, and another calls him obscene epithets. People's reactions are both anger and concern. ”He wants to annex us, but we don't want that”, says one passerby. ”One thing is for sure - they can't buy us”, shares another. A third wonders: ”What, they will come and occupy us? We are a small and vulnerable people. Who will protect us in such a case?
Meanwhile, the leaders of seven EU countries - France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Great Britain and Denmark - issued a joint statement on Greenland. It says that Greenland belongs to its people and only Denmark and Greenland can make decisions on issues affecting their relations.
Greenland's population is about 56,000 people, ARD recalls. As an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the largest island in the world is also part of NATO - just like the United States. The Americans have long maintained a military presence in Greenland - they have a military base there. This does not seem to be enough for Donald Trump. He has repeatedly stated that he has territorial claims to the island - most recently a few days ago, when he again said that he "needs" from Greenland to US national security.
This would be the end of NATO
Following the US military intervention in Venezuela, concerns are growing that Trump could do the same to Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is taking this possibility very seriously, writes ARD. She stood before journalists and citizens to answer questions and issued another warning about escalation. "Let me be absolutely clear - if one NATO country attacks another, that's the end", she said. This would also mean the end of NATO. "This is the end of the world order as it was established after the end of World War II. This is the end of the democratic rules of the game. Everything will collapse if one NATO country attacks another".
Europe supports Denmark - many governments have already made similar comments after Donald Trump's latest statements. "Only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark have the right to decide their own future", commented British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, for example.
Two possible scenarios
Frederiksen appealed to the Trump administration to comply with international law. "We live in turbulent times", she said. "But if we abandon our core values, we will all be worse off".
Many people in Denmark and Greenland are now wondering what comes next. Arctic researcher at the Danish Defense Academy, Jon Rabeke-Clemensen, believes that two scenarios are possible from now on. He told Danish public radio that one possibility is that the conflict continues in the same way for the next few years. In other words, the US should continue to threaten, and Greenland and Denmark should be outraged.
"The other option is to offer Trump some kind of way out of this situation. The Danish government recently decided that it would invest more in Greenland's defense. Maybe Trump will say: this is exactly what I wanted, there you go - I won”, says the expert. For this to happen, however, the US president will have to focus on achieving certain substantive goals. However, many people in Greenland believe that instead he will continue to pursue his goal of expanding America's influence - including literally, on the map.
Author: Arne Bartram (ARD)