United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Denmark a year after a diplomatic dispute between the United States and the Nordic country over President Donald Trump’s offer to buy Greenland.
Pompeo met his Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod and the country’s p.time minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Wednesday along with foreign affairs representatives for Greenland and the Faroe Islands, also a Danish autonomous territory.
In Kofod’s words, Denmark regards the United States as its “closest ally” and has contributed troops to NATO missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.
But relations reached some turmoil in August 2019 when Trump raised the idea of the United States buying Greenland, an Arctic territory spanning over two million. square kilometers (772,204 square miles).
Frederiksen called the proposal “absurd”, prompting Trump to cancel a planned visit to Copenhagen because of the “unpleasant” tone of the response.
While the offer was teased, analysts say it was also indicative of the United States’ renewed strategic interest in the Arctic region, which had waned a little after the end of the Cold War.
Since then, some phone calls between countries have eased tensions, and Greenland officials have said they want to put the matter behind them.
“What we said in the past and what we do today are two different things. And what matters is what we do and what we say today,” Greenland foreign affairs representative Steen Lynge said Tuesday.
The United States reopened a consulate in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, last month, with Copenhagen’s approval, and provided a $ 12.1 million aid package in April.
Greenland is also home to another strategic U.S. asset, Thule Air Force Base, which is the northernmost base of the U.S. Air Force.
Russia, China factor
Ahead of the visit, a statement from the US State Department highlighted the importance of a partnership in the Arctic, “particularly as we see increased activity in the region from Russia and the People’s Republic of China.”
But there is another point of discussion: the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that is being built between Russia and Germany.
The United States strongly opposes the pipeline, which crosses the Baltic, crosses Danish waters, and says it runs the risk of increasing NATO countries’ dependence on Russian gas.
It imposed sanctions on companies working on the project late last year, a movement strongly opposed by the European Union, and has recently threatened more.
Denmark was the last country to approve the pipeline, delaying the presentation for several months, before finally giving the green light in October 2019.
Copenhagen denied any foreign pressure on the issue, but a diplomatic source told AFP news agency that the small Nordic country has faced great difficulties in balancing the interests of its two main allies, the United States and Germany.
.
