Greenland PM Open to Permanent NATO Mission on Arctic Island

(Bloomberg) -- Greenland’s prime minister says he’s willing to go further in increasing the defense of the Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, including agreeing on the establishment of a permanent NATO mission.

“We are ready to discuss more, we are also ready to do more and do it more permanently,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Thursday, speaking to international media in the territory’s capital, Nuuk.

What happens on the polar island is at the center of global speculation after Trump announced he’d agreed to a “framework” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, offering scant detail. According to a European official briefed on the talks, the pact entails the stationing of US missiles, mining rights aimed at keeping Chinese interests out and a bolstered NATO presence.

Nielsen said he wasn’t aware of the any details of a Trump-Rutte deal and stressed that Greenland would have to take part in any talks about its future. But he also said he was open to cooperate more on mineral resources.

Denmark has long pushed for stronger NATO presence in Greenland, a message that “has now been heard, and hopefully we will seriously begin to take action on it,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen late on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels, she said both Denmark and Greenland are also open to expanding a defense treaty with the US. The agreement from 1951, updated in 2004, allows the US to freely establish bases in the territory but requires it to consult Denmark and Greenland first.

For now, the framework agreement helps defuse an escalating crisis over Greenland and paves the way for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to beef up security in the Arctic region, fending off any threat from Russia or China. It also dials down the gravest threat to the transatlantic alliance since its founding after World War II.

The Greenlandic premier said a permanent NATO mission in Greenland would be welcome, “because one thing we all agree on is the security of the Arctic and that our region is important.”

The 34-year-old premier, who took power in the land of 57,000 people last year, said any talks with the US over increased military presence must come through diplomatic channels and in a “respectful manner.” 

“We are ready to discuss a lot of things,” he said. “But sovereignty is a red line, our integrity and our borders and international law is definitely, definitely a red line that we don’t want anyone to cross.”

Explainer: Why Trump Is Obsessed With Taking Over Greenland

(Updates with comments from Danish premier from fifth paragraph)

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