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Denmark Entertains Greenland Options
The Wall Street Journal|January 15, 2025
U.S. ally signals its willingness to negotiate military, economic matters
- ALEXANDER WARD
Denmark Entertains Greenland Options

The Danish government has privately sent a message to Donald Trump's team that Copenhagen is open to negotiating military and economic deals related to Greenland, but it wants the conversations to take place behind closed doors.

Denmark isn't looking to spar publicly after the president-elect insisted the U.S. must own Greenland, a Danish territory. Instead, Danish officials said, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member is looking to resolve Trump's self-made crisis quietly, discussing with future U.S. officials how allied militaries could enhance their presence in the Arctic Circle and American companies could gain more access to Greenland's resources.

The back channel shows Trump's antics can turn marginal issues into an emergency, even if the same results could be achieved through the regular diplomatic process. It also underscores how some countries are positioning themselves, by giving Trump concessions he can tout as victories but that fall short of his public demands.

"What we are saying is that this is not about a deal" to buy Greenland, said a senior Danish official. "But if you have any requests or asks for us to do more, let's sit down and talk about it."

The Trump transition didn't respond to a request for comment.

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