Greenland wants more out of US defence agreement, says FM

BRUSSELS: Greenland wants to benefit more from a defence deal struck decades ago with the United States, the territory’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, told Reuters on Thursday while also calling for closer cooperation with the European Union.

US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of acquiring Greenland, refusing to rule out taking the island by force. The idea has been rebuffed both by leaders in Greenland and Denmark, which governs the island.

A 1951 agreement between the US and Denmark gave the US the right to move around freely and construct military bases in Greenland as long as Denmark and Greenland are notified. “We want to get more out of this agreement,” Greenland’s Motzfeldt said in an interview, adding that Greenland wants to expand cooperation with the U.S. on climate change, education and business.

The minister, who was visiting Brussels for talks with senior EU officials, also said that Greenland wants to build stronger ties to the bloc and diversify its economy. “We want to have more bilateral and direct cooperation with the EU,” she said, noting that she wants the relationship to be more visible and pointing to critical minerals as an area of cooperation. Greenland and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023 on a strategic partnership to develop sustainable raw materials value chains.