Copenhagen, Denmark – In Donald Trump, the American president who presents himself as a follower profession, Greenland seems to be an irresistible opportunity.
He said a long time that he wanted to buy the vast semi-autonomous icy island which is part of Denmark, rich in unexploited mineral resources and which houses around 56,000 people.
In 2019, during his first mandate as president, Trump suggested that the United States should buy Greenland, by translating it as a real estate agreement.
In 2025, the president again, Trump said he was concerned about national and economic security, believing that China and Russia constitute a threat. The two nations have intensified their military activities in the Arctic.
Trump also wondered if Denmark had rights in Greenland and said that if that were the case, Copenhagen should give up in the United States.
“I think Greenland, we will have because it has to do with the freedom of the world,” he told journalists on Air Force one last month.
He refused to exclude a military attack if his requests are not satisfied, a threat which opened a new chapter of tensions with Europe.
In 2019, the proposal was rejected.
Kim Kielsen, then president of Nalalakkersuist, the government of Greenland, said that the territory was not on sale.
Greenland and Danish governments are now found again by stressing the same message.
The current President of the Government of Greenland, Mute B EGEDE, underlined the aspirations of independence and confirmed an interest in cooperation with other powers – notably Denmark, the European Union and the United States.
Al Jazeera interviewed Birger Poppel, a specialist in social sciences and emeritus at IlisimatuSarfik – the University of Greenland, on growing tensions, the recent visit by Donald Trump Jr in Greenland, the last opinion polls on the territory, The relationship with Denmark and the growing climate, the growing climate, challenges in the Arctic due to the increase in shipping traffic.
Al Jazeera: Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland in the private jet of Donald Trump to sell an idea – which is bought by the United States would improve the fortune of Greenland. According to local reports, some Greenlanders have been forced to tell the cinema that they lack everything and love the United States. Do Greenlanders like the United States?
Birger Poppel: The sale of the idea very precisely sums up the objective of the visit of half a day of Trump JR in Nuuk.
Trump’s avant-garde arrived the day before, where they distributed Maga hats to the people they met, who then agreed to be at Nuuk airport when Junior and his public relations team arrived .
Upon his arrival, Junior was welcomed by a local Trump supporter who had participated in the Trump electoral campaign as an activist, as well as some handfuls of locals wearing hats Maga and a group of curious citizens Nuuk.
One of the events was a lunch in a local luxury restaurant, where residents – and mainly socially disadvantaged and resource -poor people – obtained a free meal.
Junior’s visit was a major public relations cascade. He said he was on a tourist visit, but he and the group came with mainly political messages – on the basis of false news and manipulated information. This also applies to his declaration on the opinions of the Greenlanders on the United States.
Four of the five parts in [Greenland’s Parliament] Inatitsartut – including the two government parties – has an independence of the extension within the framework of their political programs. The majority of the green population wants independence in the 10 to 20 years and, provided that the standard of living can be maintained.
A recently published opinion poll shows that 85% of Greenlanders do not want Greenland to leave the Danish domain and be rather part of the United States.
If the green population had the choice between being of Danish or American citizens, 55% would choose Danish citizenship, while 8% would choose American citizenship.
Al Jazeera: How is Trump’s point of view according to which Greenland is linked to the national and economic security of the United States? Do China and Russia be threats?
Poppel: If we take Trump’s words at its nominal value, the threat could hardly be stronger. It should also be noted that Trump threatened against one of the most loyal partners of NATO in the United States.
This is only an example of Trump’s failure to accept or respect an international social order based on rules where national borders are recognized. Thus, Trump’s declaration also helps to legitimize, for example, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war against Ukraine.
The United States has the opportunity to achieve its geostrategic objectives in Greenland with a base in northern Greenland and a defense agreement with Denmark.
If “economic security” means access to the extraction of raw materials, for example, elements of rare land (REE), Greenlandic government autonomy has invited American and American companies to request exploration licenses and exploration licenses and exploration licenses and exploration licenses and exploration licenses and exploration licenses and exploration licenses and exploration licenses and development in Greenland.
Only one American company has a license.
Thus, there may be reasons for Trump’s statements – either it is because of an insufficient overview of the real conditions, or the desire to have Greenland is to call on basic voters to emphasize that ” ‘America again “must also be understood territorially, because is the case with the Panama Canal.
Al Jazeera: The Arctic was generally considered frozen and distant not only geographically, but also politically. What changes?
Poppel: Global warming means, among other things, that ice cover in the Arctic Ocean decreases both by extent and thickness. This has indicated an increase in shipping traffic, especially through the northeast passage.
The increase in shipping traffic will also increase the traffic in China and Russia, Trump fearing that part of this traffic is made up of naval ships in Russia and China.
In recent decades, Russia A – in accordance with the increased accessibility of the Russian Arctic Coast – has modernized and improved military facilities along the coast and also modernized the Russian navy with wicking.
In an interview, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the increase in security needs of the United States in the Arctic, because China may want port facilities in Greenland. Rubio has seen this as an argument for Trump’s desire for the United States to have Greenland.
The five Arctic Nations – Canada, Greenland / Denmark, Norway and Russia, the United States – which border with the Arctic Ocean, in the so -called 2008 declaration, have committed to resolving conflicts in the region by peaceful means. Ten years later – in 2018, the five coastal states of the Arctic confirmed the Declaration of Ilulissat, thus retaining the Arctic as a low -voltage zone.
There is no doubt that Russia and China have an increasing interest in the Arctic. Russia, whose long coastline borders half of the Arctic Ocean, has modernized military facilities of the Arctic, and China is interested in oil and gas from the Russian part of the Arctic and in use Future of the future maritime routes of the Arctic with lower transport costs.
Al Jazeera: Europe was shocked by Trump’s promise to take over Greenland by all the necessary means. The Danish government has launched plans to stimulate security in Greenland. How do you see Denmark’s response?
Poppel: The Greenlandic government and the members of the Danish parliament have underlined the need for increased priority to monitor the territory of Greenland and the waters off Greenland for years.
In 2019, the Danish government decided to increase surveillance of Greenland and awarded funds for this, but in the past four years, despite the political pressure of Greenlanders on the Danish government, nothing has been done to improve follow -up.
The United States has the option – by agreement with Greenland and Denmark – to establish more bases but did not take advantage of the individual option.
Al Jazeera: What can you tell us on the American base in Greenland?
Poppel: The United States established the Thule air base in 1953 after the residents of the region of the region, the Inuguit, were forcibly transferred by the Danish state to make room for the base.
The base, now called Pituffik Space Base, has early alert systems, the possibility of spatial surveillance and the command of satellites. The civilian part of the base sometimes provided employment to Greenland and Danish workers.
Al Jazeera: Are you concerned about the long-term climate?
Poppel: The increase in American fossil fuels production will increase CO2 emissions and lead to an increase in temperatures and thus an increased fusion of all types of ice.
Trump dreams of being able to export more oil and gas, and the increase in shipping traffic will also contribute to climate impact.
Marco Rubio’s declarations that the transport of fossil fuels should take place in the north and along the west coast of Greenland, will also mean that the risk of environmental disasters in the marine environment of the vulnerable Arctic will affect in all Wildlife cases – notably marine mammals, which are very sensitive to noise.
