Greenland should hold talks with US without Denmark, opposition leader says
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Mr Pele Broberg said Denmark is antagonising both Greenland and the US with their mediation.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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COPENHAGEN - Greenland should hold direct talks with the US government without Denmark, a Greenlandic opposition leader told Reuters, as the Arctic island weighs how to respond to President Donald Trump’s renewed push to bring it under US control.
Mr Trump has recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland
Greenland is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defence system.
Its rich mineral resources also fit Washington’s goal of reducing dependence on China.
The island is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has its own Parliament and government, but Copenhagen retains authority over foreign affairs and defence.
“We encourage our current (Greenlandic) government actually to have a dialogue with the US government without Denmark,” said Mr Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, the largest opposition party and the most prominent political voice for Greenland’s independence.
“Because Denmark is antagonising both Greenland and the US with their mediation.”
Naleraq, which strongly advocates a rapid move to full independence, doubled its seats to eight in 2025’s election, winning 25 per cent of the vote in the nation of just 57,000.
Although excluded from the governing coalition, the party has said it wants a defence agreement with Washington and could pursue a “free association” arrangement – under which Greenland would receive US support and protection in exchange for military rights, without becoming a US territory.
All Greenlandic parties want independence but differ on how, and when, to achieve it.
Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said Greenland could not conduct direct talks with the US without Denmark because it is not legally allowed to do so.
“We must respect the law, and we have rules for how to resolve issues in the Kingdom,” she told Sermitsiaq daily late on Jan 7.
The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Mr Broberg’s remarks.
The comments come ahead of a planned meeting between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio next week to address tensions between NATO allies.
Ms Motzfeldt said it was important to set Greenland’s relationship with Washington on a steady course.
“My greatest hope is that the meeting will lead to a normalisation of our relationship,” she told Sermitsiaq.
The Danish-Greenlandic strategy is to try to channel discussions back onto a diplomatic track, in which rational concerns are addressed, said Mr Ulrik Pram Gad, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies.
“The strategy is to get Trump’s undiplomatic social media statements put back into stabilised diplomatic channels,” he told Reuters.
In Brussels, NATO ambassadors held a “cordial” discussion on Greenland on Jan 8, with broad agreement that the alliance should beef up its Arctic security efforts, according to people familiar with the talks.
“No drama,” said a senior NATO diplomat. “Lots of agreement that NATO needs to accelerate its development of stronger deterrence presence in the region.”
Exactly what additional steps NATO might take remains undecided. Some countries have suggested using the alliance’s operations on its eastern flank – Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry – as potential models.
Both missions deploy multinational forces flexibly to protect several nations, while employing drones, sensors, and other technology to monitor land and sea.
Top officials in the Trump administration seem to have different perspectives on how to achieve their objectives.
Mr Rubio appears not to favour a military operation, according to France’s foreign minister. But others in the Trump administration say the option is on the table.
“We are going to make sure we defend America’s interests,” US Vice-President J.D. Vance told Fox News in an interview aired late on Jan 7. “And I think the president is willing to go as far as he has to make sure he does that.” REUTERS
