Denmark’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, was in Washington on Thursday to hold secret meetings with the US government over Greenland, the public broadcaster DR has reported.
Tranholm-Mikkelsen – the most senior official in Denmark’s foreign ministry – was in the US capital together with Minnguaq Kleist, Permanent Secretary at Greenland’s Ministry of Statehood and Foreign Affairs.
According to DR, the two held a ‘secret’ meeting with Mike Needham, the US’s chief negotiator on Greenland, to push ahead with existing talks between the three countries.
According to DR, the talks are taking place on three main tracks.
Firstly, there are talks aimed at satisfying American wishes while at the same time not violating the Danish and Greenlandic red lines over sovereignty. Under a possible agreement, DR understands that a deal could be done to secure access to deposits of rare earth metals in Greenland, while blocking access to China.
“This is where the negotiations become difficult. Because how do you ensure that?” DR’s US correspondent, Kim Bildsøe, wrote. “Who will do this ‘investment monitoring’, and who will decide which companies and nations are allowed to operate in Greenland in this area? If it is left to the Americans, Greenland is giving up a crucial piece of national self-determination.”
Secondly, there are discussions on Nato’s role in the Arctic and in Greenland, with proposals for three or four new US military bases to be established on the island.
Finally, there are talks aimed at defusing Danish anger on more thorny issues, such as the visit by Trump’s special envoy, Jeff Landry, to Greenland without the permission of the Danish or Greenlandic governments.
The Washington Post and Axios both reported on Thursday that Needham has now been moved from the US State Department to the White House, where he will serve as deputy national security advisor and advisor to the president.
The newspapers stressed, however, that he would continue to lead negotiations on Greenland.
