The leaders of Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and Denmark have defended this Tuesday the sovereignty of Greenland and the security of the Arctic region in the face of growing threats from the United States, after the illegal attack on Venezuela just three days ago.
In a joint declaration, signed by the President of the Spanish Government, among others, the European leaders assure that “Greenland belongs to its people. It is up to Denmark and Greenland, and only them, to decide on the matters that concern them.” Furthermore, “Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and is essential for international and transatlantic security.”
“We and many other allies have increased our presence, our activities and our investments to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland, is part of NATO,” said the leaders, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “Arctic security must, therefore, be achieved collectively, together with NATO allies, including the United States, respecting the principles of the United Nations Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders,” they added.
“The United States is an essential partner in this endeavor, both as a NATO ally and through the defense agreement between the kingdom of Denmark and the United States of 1951,” Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark have highlighted.
The statement released by the Italian Government of Giorgia Meloni and collected by the Italian media, comes after one of President Donald Trump’s advisors, Stephen Miller, reiterated in an interview with the CNN television network that Greenland should be part of the United States and that this country could take over the autonomous Danish territory, a demand of the Trump Administration since the president returned to the White House a year ago.
“No one is going to fight the US militarily for the future of Greenland,” Miller said. Asked if he would rule out the use of military force in Greenland as his government has done in Venezuela, Miller responded that the “real question” should be: “By what right does Denmark exercise its control over Greenland?”, “On what does it base its territorial claim?” or “What is the basis for Greenland being a colony of Denmark?”
“The US is the power of NATO, for the US securing the Arctic is an interest for NATO. Obviously, Greenland should be part of the US,” said this Trump advisor. “We live in a world, in the real world, ruled by force, ruled by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time,” he added.
This Tuesday, the Danish Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, reiterated that Copenhagen is going to reinforce the defense in Greenland and the presence of NATO on this island, the EFE Agency reports. “We are going to reinforce our military presence in Greenland, but there is also going to be a greater NATO focus with more maneuvers and a greater NATO presence. That means we are with the Americans in this,” Poulsen said. “I want to make it clear that Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. I do not perceive that anyone at the international level questions this,” added the Defense Minister, highlighting that both Denmark and the United States are members of that alliance.
For his part, the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, welcomed this statement as “it is a clear sign that territorial integrity, sovereignty and the international rules of the game continue to apply and are respected.” “He unequivocally supports Greenland and our common territorial integrity. This support is important in a situation in which fundamental international principles are questioned. I want to express my deep gratitude for that support,” he wrote on his account on the social network Facebook in which previously, late on Monday, he had insisted on calling for “a respectful dialogue through the correct diplomatic channels and the use of existing forums that are based on agreements that already exist with the United States.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
