The consulate of the US re-opened after almost a decade-long hiatus, in Nuuk, The capital of Greenland. This move has drawn attention after the US President Donald Trump, stated his interests in buying Greenland from Denmark.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said that it will become more operationally active to handle the increasing influence of Russia in the Arctic and to counter the Chinese attempts to enter the region. While visiting Denmark, Pompeo praised the restarting of the US consulate and announced new sustainable fisheries and agreement for commercial engagement, with the Faroe Islands.
With respect to Trump’s intentions of purchasing Greenland, the Danish foreign minister Jeppe Kofod stated that the remark was widely ridiculed and rejected by both Danish and Greenlandic officials. However this topic wasn’t raised during his talk with Pompeo who has exclaimed, “It’s a new day for the United States in Greeland,” at a joint news conference with Kofod. “That discussion was dealt with last year,” he said, “It was not on the table.”
A Struggle for Power
The Minister for Cultural and Foreign affairs of the Faroe Islands told the media of Denmark ahead of Pompeo’s meeting with Kofod, that he was extremely interested to discuss that what role Washington sees the North Atlantic archipelago playing in the Arctic region. He also expressed his keenness about the possibility of a free trade agreement between the United States and the Faroe Islands which is an autonomous territory of Denmark with 52,000 inhabitants and located between Norway and Iceland, in the north of Scotland.
Av Rana told TV2, a broadcaster of Denmark that he was concerned about the Arctic region becoming a battleground for international superpowers like the United States, China and Russia who are currently engaged in a cold war.
The War for Political and Economic Supremacy
Av Rana said, “We’re very worried if the Arctic becomes a playground or a scene of war for the great powers.” These ‘great powers’ surely were the US, Russia and China as they are considered to be the current world leaders.
As Pompeo talked with Kofod, Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark and the representative personals of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, he stressed on the importance of energy independence, particularly from Russia.
The US administration under the presidentship of Donald Trump is vehemently opposed to the pipeline of Nord Stream 2 under the Baltic Sea that extends from Russia to Germany. Last week, the administration of the United States warned companies involved in those particular projects that they must halt their work immediately, else they would be subjected to penalties by the US. The Environmental Agency of Denmark that had been holding up the construction of the remaining portion of the pipeline has dropped their opposition against this project, in October. This has prompted the US to increase and step up their efforts to prevent the project from reaching completion.
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