Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats said Monday that she is “quite optimistic” Denmark, Greenland and the USA can reach an agreement on security and defense in Greenland.
Frederiksen spoke at a news conference in Finland, where she attended a European summit focused on security in the Arctic.
“We have agreed to start a high-level working group on closer cooperation on security and defense, also in Greenland,” Frederiksen said.
“As long as the working group between Greenland, Denmark, and the USA continues its work, it is too early to draw a conclusion. But I am quite optimistic that we will succeed in finding a way,” she said.
Frederiksen visited Greenland last week with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Denmark is among 10 NATO countries conducting a joint military exercise in Greenland. The exercise is intended to show that Denmark and NATO are protecting Greenland and the Arctic.
US President Donald Trump has criticized Denmark for not doing enough to protect Greenland from threats posed by Russia and China.
During the first weeks of September, 400 soldiers from 10 NATO countries are operating on land, at sea and in the air near Narsarsuaq and Kangerlussuaq. They are training to operate in Arctic conditions as part of NATO’s Arctic Sentry surveillance and deterrence mission.
“If one is to be able to operate in the Arctic, one has to train up here,” Søren Andersen, head of Denmark’s Arctic Command, told the Danish news agency Ritzau last week.
Andersen said the temporary Arctic Shield exercise is part of a long-term strategy for Greenland and the Arctic.
“For us, it is about helping to transform NATO’s northern flank into a hard target. Meaning all the way from Alaska across Canada, Greenland, and to the northern part of Norway,” he said.
Denmark and Greenland are also discussing whether to give the USA greater access to Greenland. The New York Times reported in the spring, based on American sources, that the USA wants three bases in Greenland as part of a possible agreement. Narsarsuaq and Kangerlussuaq were reportedly among the possible locations.
Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus of the Social Democrats declined to discuss the working group’s talks during a visit to Narsarsuaq last week.
“I cannot comment on that. What goes on in that working group, goes on in that working group,” Bruus told Ritzau.
Bruus said the government wants to extend the operating period of Narsarsuaq Airport by one year if it receives support from the Folketing, Denmark’s parliament.
“Initially, it is a one-year extension. That gives us the opportunity to extend the playing board,” Bruus said.
Chief of Defense Michael Hyldgaard said Narsarsuaq would be an obvious possible location for an American base because of its position in southern Greenland and its access to transatlantic routes, the Denmark Strait and the GIUK gap.
The GIUK gap is the sea area between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. It is an important military passage where NATO can monitor and block Russian submarines moving toward the Atlantic.
The USA previously operated a military base in Narsarsuaq from July 1941 to November 1958.
