The Danish government has received warnings from several of Donald Trump's advisers and allies that the future president is serious about his statements about Greenland. This is what several Danish government sources tell CNN.
When Trump aired the issue of buying Greenland during his last term, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed it as "absurd." Now she is forced to weigh her words in order not to anger one of her closest allies.
- The ecosystem that backs this idea is completely different now, says a Danish source. Another notes that "it seems much more serious" this time.
According to the sources, the Danish position is that a direct and honest conversation with Trump is the best way to avert a crisis, rather than assuming that he is not serious.
If Donald Trump wants to take control of Greenland, it is not inconceivable that the incoming president will think the same about Svalbard. This is what Tore Wig, a professor of political science at the University of Oslo, says in an interview with the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.
- It is very serious for Norway and it is a security risk that in many ways we have not seen since World War II, he tells the newspaper in response to Trump's threat.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has also commented on the risk of Svalbard ending up on the US radar. In an interview with the NRK program Politisk kvarter, he says that Norway has control over Svalbard.
The Norwegian leader was asked if he was worried that the American television channel Fox News would start talking about Svalbard.
- Then I would gladly accept an invitation. Svalbard belongs to Norway, and Svalbard is safe, he says.
Voices on Greenland
Expert: Denmark must find out what the US wants
Several diplomatic meetings between Denmark and the US must be arranged when Donald Trump takes over as president on January 20. This is what Rasmus Nørlem Sørensen, chairman of the think tank Council for International Conflict Resolution, says in an interview with the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet.
– Let's sit down and listen to what the US wants. Not Trump's wild dreams, he says in response to Trump's statement about taking control of Greenland.
The incoming president has not ruled out resorting to military pressure on Denmark to take control of the island. Nørlem Sørensen believes that the US already has access to almost everything in Greenland, which would make it unreasonable for Trump's statements to be about security policy.
He believes that the US's desire to have control of Greenland could be about shipping or important minerals on the island.
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