The working group between Denmark, Greenland and the USA is still running, says Lars Løkke Rasmussen after the board meeting.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) has a “cautious optimism” that it is possible to reach an agreement between Denmark, Greenland and the USA.
He says this on Friday after a meeting of the Foreign Policy Board, where he briefed the board’s members on the work on the “high-level track” that was launched between the three countries in January.
But Lars Løkke is also aware of what has happened to other countries that have been in the process of negotiations. He mentions the negotiations for a trade agreement between Canada and the United States that recently collapsed.
– So I am very persistent in giving my final assessment of this. We don’t have a deal until we have a deal. But it is good that we have this dialogue.
– It makes me a little hopeful, knowing that in the end it will require the American president, who probably has the full decision-making authority on the last day, to approve such an agreement, says Lars Løkke Rasmussen to the press present.
A final agreement must “with respect for Greenland and Denmark’s red lines meet what are called legitimate American security considerations”, says Løkke further.
However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs cannot say “anything decisively new” about a time horizon for a clarification in the working group.
In June, Lars Løkke expected that a solution would be found before the end of the year.
RITZAU
