NYT: Denmark may reconsider US military presence in Greenland

Denmark may revise its defence agreement with the United States, which would enable Washington to build military bases in Greenland, said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Frederiksen made the statement commenting on Copenhagen’s response to U.S. claims over the island in an interview with The New York Times, Caliber.Az reports.

“She praised the 1951 treaty but did not rule out revising it as part of the discussions that have persisted for months between Danish and American officials,” the report said.

On January 27, Frederiksen reiterated that the idea of granting sovereignty was a “red line” Denmark and its European allies would not cross. The prime minister also stressed that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was not empowered to negotiate anything of the sort on Denmark’s behalf.

The Danish premier and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, are set to appear together again at a forum in Paris on January 28. Their tour appears, in part, to be an attempt to maintain European support for Denmark’s position as the Greenland talks continue.

By Khagan Isayev