Greenland’s incoming prime minister said that talk of annexing the semi-autonomous Danish island was unacceptable. After Marco Rubio said that Greenlanders do not want to be a part of Denmark. The Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that he had made it very clear that Denmark does not accept frequently repeated “presidential statements about visions of acquiring Greenland.” “It has reached a situation that I can only describe as an attack on Denmark’s sovereignty.”
BRUSSELS APRIL 4: Greenland’s incoming prime minister said that talk of annexing the semi-autonomous Danish island was unacceptable on Friday, after the U.S. Secretary of State said Denmark should focus on the fact that Greenlanders do not want to be a part of Denmark.
Rubio’s words come to American journalists, including the news agencies AFP and Reuters, at a press conference after this week’s NATO foreign ministers meeting.
– – The Greenlanders will make a decision. They want to get away from Denmark. They want to become independent. And when they have made that decision, the United States will be ready, potentially, to start a partnership, Rubio promises.
Rubio had a half-hour meeting with his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen on Thursday. Afterwards, the US side only issued a brief statement saying that the US and Denmark have a “strong relationship.”
Løkke, however, held a press conference where he said, among other things, that he had made it very clear that Denmark does not accept frequently repeated “presidential statements about visions of acquiring Greenland.”
– It has reached a situation that I can only describe as an attack on Denmark’s sovereignty. And I made that very clear, Løkke told TT and others on Thursday.
Image: Gage Skidmore
