NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet ministers from Denmark and Greenland on Monday amid the escalating dispute between Europeans and the United States over Greenland.
Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Denmark’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen will attend the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
No press conference or other media events were initially planned.
The gathering comes as US President Donald Trump seeks to take over Greenland, arguing that his control over the island is necessary for US security needs. His European NATO allies, which include Denmark, strictly oppose this.
Largely autonomous Greenland is part of the territory of Denmark. With a population of just under 57,000, Greenland has repeatedly said it does not wish to become part of the US.
NATO allies also say that Greenland does not need to be taken over by the US to protect the Arctic.
On Saturday Trump said he would slap a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries starting February 1 and rising to 25% from June 1 if no resolution is reached to his satisfaction, which would be the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland.
In addition to Denmark, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherland, Norway, Finland and Sweden would be hit with the tariffs, Trump said.
ANEWS
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