The Arctic island, home to around 56,000 people, has been associated with Denmark politically and culturally for a millennium but Trump has repeatedly set out his desire to get his hands on it for what he claims are national security reasons.
After days of mounting tension leading to protests on the streets of Nuuk and Copenhagen, the US president appeared to back off slightly in a speech in Davos, Switzerland, last week as he ruled out taking the Arctic island “by force” – a prospect Trump previously had appeared to entertain leaving international law experts dumbfounded with Denmark being a Nato ally of the US.
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But in true Trump style, this move did not come without talk of “a future deal” on Greenland, one which we still know very little about.
And so The National is heading to Copenhagen to find out how Danes and Greenlanders are feeling about being at the centre of a geopolitical storm.
What to expect
Over the coming days, you can expect to hear from current and former politicians who have been at the heart of the debate as well as those representing Greenlanders in Denmark.
This week, Trump has insisted that the US will effectively take ownership of US military bases in Greenland, making them sovereign US land, but Greenland minister Naaja Nathanielsen has said that “giving up sovereignty is not on the table for now.”
She also said her government had not been “presented with anything” despite talk of an agreed “framework deal”.
We will aim to answer a few questions:
- What is the relationship like between Denmark and Greenland and how has it changed amid Trump’s threats?
- How much, if anything, is known about this deal?
- Do Danes and Greenlanders now trust Trump or does it still feel like Greenland’s future still hangs in the balance?
- How will they continue to protest against him?
- Are they on their guard for the next threat?
Keep an eye on thenational.scot over the coming days and into the weekend for plenty of content and don’t forget you can sign up for year’s subscription for just £20 in our winter sale.