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Trump says US to build a 'large Military presence' in Greenland · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The leaders of both Greenland and Denmark say they're pleased
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: with a deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump late
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: on Friday. According to the White House, the agreement will
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  Speaker 1: bolster U.S. military presence in Greenland and give Washington permanent
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: control over Greenland's security. Trump had repeatedly threatened to annex
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: the Arctic island, even suggesting he could do it by force.
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  Speaker 2: The future of Greenland has been in question for months.
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  Speaker 2: Now it appears some clarity could be coming very soon.
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  Speaker 2: In a Truth Social post on Friday night, US President
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  Speaker 2: Donald Trump said, Breaking news! I'm pleased to announce that
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  Speaker 2: the United States of America has entered into an agreement
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  Speaker 2: with the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland that gives the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: United States permanent control over security and all other needs
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  Speaker 2: in Greenland, completely addressing all of our many US concerns.
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  Speaker 2: Shortly afterwards, Danish Prime Minister Meta Fredriksson confirmed the news
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  Speaker 2: of an agreement with an official statement, saying that the
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  Speaker 2: United States, Denmark and Greenland expect to be able to
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  Speaker 2: sign an agreement in the coming week that will strengthen
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  Speaker 2: security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic region. A
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  Speaker 2: statement from Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Fredrik Nielsen was also
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  Speaker 2: in the post. adding that, quote, it's to the benefit
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  Speaker 2: of us all. The move comes after months of threats
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: from President Trump, who repeatedly said he would do anything
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  Speaker 2: it takes to get control of the island.
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  Speaker 3: I don't have to use force. I don't want to
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  Speaker 3: use force. I won't use force.
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  Speaker 4: All the United States is asking for is a place
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  Speaker 4: called Greenland.
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  Speaker 2: There was a sense of relief among the people in
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  Speaker 2: the semi-autonomous Danish territory. But many were apprehensive, waiting for
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  Speaker 2: the details of the agreement to be released.
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  Speaker 3: I'm not comfortable. But let's see the concrete terms of
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: the agreement. Then we need to have a process to discuss.
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  Speaker 5: It.
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  Speaker 4: It works very well for me because Denmark is too small.
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  Speaker 4: It cannot defend itself when it's such a small country.
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  Speaker 4: I can't defend such a country.
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  Speaker 2: Meanwhile in the United States, people were still not sure
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  Speaker 2: exactly what to make of the agreement.
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  Speaker 4: I'm happy. That means that we'll be more secure as
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  Speaker 4: far as the nation.
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  Speaker 6: So we're good for it.
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  Speaker 5: Definitely don't believe that it's about security or anything like
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  Speaker 5: that because I know the United States has a history
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  Speaker 5: of either forcefully taking territory or negotiating territory that citizens
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  Speaker 5: have not been supportive of all because of some natural resources.
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  Speaker 5: And I think that's what this, I think it's about
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  Speaker 5: natural resources in Greenland.
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  Speaker 2: The deal is expected to be signed at the United
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  Speaker 2: Nations next week.
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  Speaker 6: Let's bring in Jakob Illeborg.
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  Speaker 1: He's a Danish journalist who's covered international affairs for many years.
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  Speaker 6: Welcome to DW.
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  Speaker 1: So we just saw Donald Trump for months threatening to
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: seize Greenland. Now he's celebrating a deal with Denmark. So
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: from a Danish perspective, at least, is this being seen
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: as a diplomatic success or is it an American victory?
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  Speaker 3: I think the former.
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  Speaker 4: I think there are high hopes in Denmark that this
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  Speaker 4: will calm the waters while also giving Denmark sort of
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  Speaker 4: the continuous platform that we've been asking for all along.
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  Speaker 4: A security expert in Denmark earlier today wrote that congratulations,
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  Speaker 4: President Trump, you've just achieved exactly what you always had.
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  Speaker 4: And the feeling is that in a sense, there's nothing
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  Speaker 4: really new about this. The Americans were always welcome. They've
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  Speaker 4: had about 30 bases on Greenland before. So the feeling
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  Speaker 4: in Denmark is that hopefully we can regain our friendship
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  Speaker 4: with the Americans who we've always seen as our very
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  Speaker 4: close friends. while still controlling Greenland. The sovereignty of Greenland,
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  Speaker 4: it seems, remains in Danish hands.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so you say the perception in Denmark is that
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: the U.S. gets what it always had anyway, but do
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  Speaker 1: we have more details about what's actually in this deal?
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  Speaker 6: I mean, Trump himself said the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Would have permanent control over security and all other needs.
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  Speaker 6: What does that mean?
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  Speaker 3: Well, it's a good question, and we don't know yet.
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  Speaker 4: I listened to the Danish business minister, former foreign minister
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  Speaker 4: Martin Lidegaard today, and he said that he had read
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  Speaker 4: the deal and that it was a win-win for all parties.
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  Speaker 4: I think deep down, I think he felt that it
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  Speaker 4: was a win for Denmark more than anything, and maybe
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  Speaker 4: also for Greenland. But the devil with these things, as
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: we know, and very often when dealing with President Trump,
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  Speaker 4: is in the detail. So we will get much wiser
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  Speaker 4: as the days go by. But it would seem right now,
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  Speaker 4: from a Danish perspective, that things in a sense are
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  Speaker 4: as they always were. The big difference is that now
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  Speaker 4: America will use the basis they always had access to
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  Speaker 4: and invest in Greenland. So yes, things are changing, but
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  Speaker 4: maybe in a way that Denmark much rather would like
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  Speaker 4: than what we've been fearing over the last couple of years.
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  Speaker 1: Well, something else that Denmark's been saying is that Greenland's
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  Speaker 1: sovereignty is fully protected. But do Greenlanders see it that
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  Speaker 1: way as well? Or are they still concerned that U.S.
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  Speaker 1: influence is going to be growing regardless?
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  Speaker 4: I just spoke to elderly statesman Akko Liklunge, a top
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  Speaker 4: politician in his day in Greenland. He's in Nuuk, and
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  Speaker 4: he said that there's a feeling of relief. And a
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  Speaker 4: feeling that finally very important allies can come together again.
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  Speaker 4: But there's also some anxiety and uncertainty. The Greenlanders have
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  Speaker 4: been under enormous duress and stress over the last two years.
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  Speaker 4: I've been there several times, and it's been notable when
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  Speaker 4: you speak to Greenlanders. So I think while they're hoping
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  Speaker 4: for the best, I think they're slightly worried if we
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  Speaker 4: can trust the Americans.
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  Speaker 3: So to speak.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, and we also have to remember that Greenland has
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  Speaker 1: long debated greater independence from Denmark. So does this deal
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  Speaker 1: strengthen Greenland's hand or does it just make the island
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  Speaker 1: even more dependent on outside powers?
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  Speaker 3: It's also a very good question.
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  Speaker 4: In some ways, you could say that a lot of
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  Speaker 4: money will flow into Greenland with the American military presence there.
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  Speaker 4: This will strengthen the economy of Greenland probably quite a lot.
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  Speaker 4: But again, we don't know the details. So we're not
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  Speaker 4: quite sure what it means. How will it be for
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  Speaker 4: the Greenlandic, very small, semi-autonomous nation to deal with mighty
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  Speaker 4: America day to day?
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  Speaker 3: We simply don't know these things.
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  Speaker 4: But the feeling in Copenhagen, at least, and I think
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  Speaker 4: to some extent in Nuuk as well, is that this
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  Speaker 4: is what we are after all along, what we've been
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  Speaker 4: asking the Americans for saying Greenland is open for business,
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  Speaker 4: but it's sovereign, it's its own, and it cannot be
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  Speaker 4: taken over by a close ally. So, you know, I
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  Speaker 4: think there's a lot of ifs and buts and unknowns,
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  Speaker 4: but right now it's looking a lot better, I think,
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  Speaker 4: than what it did, say, half a year or a
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  Speaker 4: year ago.
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  Speaker 6: And just very briefly, what's your take?
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  Speaker 1: Do you think this deal settles the debate or will
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  Speaker 1: the future status of Greenland remain a political issue?
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  Speaker 3: I think it will remain a political issue to some extent.
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  Speaker 4: And I think that it's very, very dangerous and difficult
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  Speaker 4: to guess when you're dealing with American President Donald Trump
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  Speaker 4: as to what's really on offering. But I think this
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: will be seen in Nuuk and in Copenhagen as a
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  Speaker 4: good day, a day of hope also that we can
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  Speaker 4: regain the friendship of trust of the United States. Denmark
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  Speaker 4: has always been a very, very close ally of the
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  Speaker 4: United States.
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  Speaker 1: That was Jakob Illeborg, a Danish journalist. We appreciate all
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: your insights.
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  Speaker 6: Thank you so much.
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  Speaker 7: And so here's what the current head of NATO's military
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  Speaker 7: committee had to say about the Greenland deal in the
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  Speaker 7: meeting in Copenhagen.
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  Speaker 8: It's an agreement, so it's very, very welcome. We are
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  Speaker 8: not going in deep for that. Again, we have a
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  Speaker 8: lot of stuff going on there from the military point
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  Speaker 8: of view. We have the Arctic Sentry activity, which is
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  Speaker 8: a huge commitment for NATO on that. I mean, just consider,
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  Speaker 8: NATO has the three flanks to take care of. It's
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  Speaker 8: the north flank, the east flank, and also the south flank.
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  Speaker 8: So this is our 360 degrees. And the Arctic northern
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  Speaker 8: flank is part of our... our patrolling activities. So, military speaking,
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  Speaker 8: we are taking great care of that area.
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  Speaker 7: Let's go back to Terry Schultz in Brussels. Terry, that
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  Speaker 7: sounds positive. Are there any doubts or scepticism left?
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  Speaker 9: Well, nobody knows what's in this deal. As the Vox
• 9:17
  Speaker 9: Pops pointed out there, nobody's seen it and we may
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  Speaker 9: not know exactly what's in it until next week when,
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  Speaker 9: as you mentioned, the leaders intend to sign it. So,
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  Speaker 9: Of course, there is some relief that a deal has
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  Speaker 9: been reached that satisfies Donald Trump, because, to be honest,
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  Speaker 9: a lot of the insecurity around the Arctic region right
• 9:35
  Speaker 9: now in the North Atlantic has been because of his threats,
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  Speaker 9: not only because there is concern, which there is, about
• 9:43
  Speaker 9: the possibility that Russia and China increase their interests in Greenland,
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  Speaker 9: but everybody would be very happy if this issue were
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  Speaker 9: put to rest, because it has caused just the most
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  Speaker 9: enormous tension inside the alliance, fear inside the alliance about U.S.
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  Speaker 6: Intentions.
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  Speaker 9: And it did cause NATO to set up this Arctic
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  Speaker 9: Sentry mission that you heard Admiral Cavadragone talk about, because
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  Speaker 9: they wanted to prove to Donald Trump that NATO could
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  Speaker 9: take care of it, that the Nordic countries were going
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  Speaker 9: to pitch into this. Basically, from my read of this
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  Speaker 9: and many other experts who are speaking about it, there
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  Speaker 9: isn't much the U.S. is getting in this new reconfiguration
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  Speaker 9: of the language of the 1951 treaty that it didn't
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  Speaker 9: already have.
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  Speaker 3: The U.S.
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  Speaker 9: Already had the right to have these bases on Greenland,
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  Speaker 9: to even expand those bases on Greenland. What it does
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  Speaker 9: make more explicit, Tommy, is that adversarial countries cannot get
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  Speaker 9: a stronghold in Greenland. Now, that's something that hasn't happened anyway,
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  Speaker 9: but so if— If that makes everyone feel better to
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  Speaker 9: have that in this new language, then I don't think
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  Speaker 9: anyone's against it. But I think the feeling in a
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  Speaker 9: lot of countries is that this could have been done
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  Speaker 9: without all the threats and without all the tension that
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  Speaker 9: this has caused to Greenland and Denmark and, in fact,
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  Speaker 9: NATO's European allies.
• 11:02
  Speaker 7: DW's correspondent, Terry Schultz, thank you for your analysis.