COPENHAGEN, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Greenland may become independent if its residents want, but is unlikely to become a U.S. state, Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out force to take control of the Arctic island.
Greenland's leader met with the Danish king in Copenhagen on Wednesday, a day after Trump's remarks thrust the fate of the mineral-rich and strategically important island, which is under Danish rule, to the top of world headlines.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on Tuesday he would not rule out using military or economic action to make Greenland part of the United States. The same day, Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to Greenland.
Greenland, part of NATO through the membership of Denmark, has strategic significance for the U.S. military and for its ballistic missile early-warning system since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island.
The president-elect has indicated he would pursue a more combative foreign policy that disregards traditional diplomatic formalities.
Greenland, the world's biggest island, has been part of Denmark for 600 years although its 57,000 people now govern their own domestic affairs. The island's government led by Prime Minister Mute Egede aims for eventual independence.
"We fully recognise that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialise, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States," Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
He told reporters the United States' heightened security concerns in the Arctic were legitimate following increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.
"I don't think that we're in a foreign policy crisis," he said. "We are open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled."
Still, although Denmark itself played down the seriousness of Trump's threat to its territory, the returning president's openly stated ambition to expand U.S. borders has jolted European allies less than two weeks before he takes office.
France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said Europe would not let other nations attack its sovereign borders, although he did not believe the U.S. would invade.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed surprise at Trump's comments about Greenland and Canada, underlining that European partners unanimously uphold the inviolability of borders.
Photo from Reuters
