Denmark and Greenland say there is still a ‘fundamental disagreement’ with US
Denmark and Greenland say there is still a ‘fundamental disagreement’ with US
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The United States, Denmark and Greenland have decided to form “a high-level working group to explore if we can find a common way forward” as a “fundamental disagreement” with the Trump administration persists over the future of the island which is a self-governing territory of Denmark, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Wednesday.
Rasmussen said he and his Greenlandic colleague had “a frank but also constructive discussion” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance earlier on Wednesday, but their “perspectives continue to differ.”
“We agreed that it makes sense to try to sit down on a high level to explore whether there’s possibilities to accommodate the concerns of the president while we at the same time, respect the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark. So this is the work we will start,” he added.
Rasmussen said the discussions with the top Trump administration officials “focused on how to ensure the long-term security in Greenland.”
“I must say, the president has made his view clear, and we have a different position,” he said, noting that Denmark continues to believe that the long-term security “can be ensured inside the current framework.”
“Ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable,” he said at a press conference in Washington, DC.
“We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree, and therefore we will, however, continue to talk,” he said.
The working group is expected to meet for the first time “within a matter of weeks,” Rasmussen said.
