Greenland PM says does not know what is in Trump-Rutte agreement

NUUK: Greenland’s prime minister said Thursday that he was not aware of the contents of a framework agreement about the Danish autonomous territory that US President Donald Trump announced after a meeting with NATO’s chief, but stressed no deal could be made without involving the island.

“Nobody else than Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark have the mandate to make deals or agreements about Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark without us,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a press conference.

“We have some red lines… We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law, sovereignty,” he added.

US President Donald Trump backed down on threats to seize Greenland by force after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday, saying he had reached a “framework” of a deal on the Danish autonomous territory.

Details of the agreement made at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos remain scant.

READ MORE: NATO chief says ‘thoughtful diplomacy’ only way to deal with Greenland crisis

Nielsen said he was “happy” that Trump had stated that the use of force was off the table, but that he was not aware of the contents of the deal.

“I don’t know what there is in the agreement or the deal about my country,” Nielsen told reporters, noting that he had not been part of the discussions.

A source familiar with the talks between Trump and Rutte told AFP on Thursday said it included a provision that the the United States and Denmark will renegotiate a 1951 defence pact on Greenland.

Putting US military bases on Greenland under US sovereignty had not been discussed during the talks, the source said.

Earlier on Thursday, Greenland’s Deputy Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a post on social media that it was “unacceptable to attempt to hand our land to others”.

Nielsen also said if Greenland had to choose between remaining part of Denmark or joining the US, “we choose the Kingdom of Denmark, we choose the EU, we choose NATO.”