Greenland talks with US and Denmark remain deadlocked after four months
A trilateral working group formed in response to U.S. pressure on Greenland has yet to produce any movement, with all three parties holding firm to their original positions, Greenland’s foreign affairs minister says.
Múte Bourup Egede (IA), the naalakkersuisoq (minister) for foreign affairs, told Sermitsiaq that the basic positions, attitudes and objectives present when the group was established remain unchanged.
“Our negotiations take time,” he said, attributing the slow pace to fundamental disagreements among the parties.
The working group, made up of senior officials from Greenland, Denmark and the United States, was created at a Washington meeting in mid-January. The agreement was reached by Greenland’s then-foreign affairs minister Vivian Motzfeldt (D), Denmark’s acting foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. It held its first meeting on January 22.
Despite several meetings since, the group has not shifted its starting point. Egede stressed, however, that dialogue between the senior officials is proceeding properly and constructively.
“We still stand by our position. But even though the countries continue to differ, the conversations in the working group are taking place in a proper manner and with a search for something that can lead to results,” he said.
