Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The Greenlandic PM said yesterday, that Greenland chooses Denmark.
During a joint press conference with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, clearly rejected the idea of Greenland becoming part of the U.S.
“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he said, according to the BBC.
But what Greenland chooses is one thing — what Donald Trump wants is another.
And if a senior U.S. official is to be believed, something could very well happen in Greenland in the near future.
Weeks or months
In an interview with USA TODAY, Thomas Dans, who serves as Trump’s Arctic commissioner, said the president’s goal of annexing Greenland is not fading.
He suggested that U.S. action could come within “weeks or months.”
Dans is considered a central advocate of the Greenland proposal. According to USA TODAY, he has worked on the issue since 2020 and has helped keep it on the administration’s agenda.
“This is a train route with multiple stops,” Dans said in the interview. “Things could move on an express basis, skip the local stops, and go direct to the main station. That’s where President Trump wants to move it — at high speed.”
Long road ahead
The idea of acquiring Greenland was first presented to Trump by billionaire and former diplomat Ronald Lauder, USA TODAY reported. The concept has resurfaced periodically as strategic interest in the Arctic grows.
Dans said he expects signs of progress on talks or a potential framework sooner rather than later. However, he cautioned that completing any acquisition would likely take far longer than initial moves.
Sources: USA TODAY, BBC, Reuters, Danish TV 2, Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR)
