MUNICH:&nbsp;US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to address European leaders on Saturday as they try to step up their autonomy in defense while salvaging transatlantic ties badly strained under President Donald Trump. Bruised by Trump&#39;s designs on Greenland and his often hostile comments about America&#39;s traditional bedrock allies, European leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference have pledged to shoulder more of the burden of shared <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/in-show-of-support-canada-france-open-consulates-in-greenland" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">NATO defenses</a>. &lsquo;Right time&rsquo;&nbsp;Key leaders have pushed the message that this is essential for Europe to counter a hostile Russia, with NATO chief Mark Rutte saying that &quot;a strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever&quot;. &quot;This is the right time for a strong Europe,&quot; said French President Emmanuel Macron, who stressed on Friday that the continent was &quot;clear in the support of Ukraine&quot; and &quot;building its own architecture of security&quot;. &quot;This Europe will be a good ally and partner for the United States of America.&quot; &lsquo;A sleeping giant&rsquo;British leader Keir Starmer was expected to tell the conference that Europe is &quot;a sleeping giant&quot; and must rely less on the United States for its defense. &quot;I&#39;m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full and remakes the ties that have served us so well,&quot; he will say, according to his office. Conciliatory choice&nbsp;Rubio is seen as a more conciliatory choice of US envoy, a year after Vice President JD Vance used the same stage to attack European policies on immigration and free speech, shocking European allies. The Trump administration&#39;s new National Security Strategy similarly launched an unprecedented attack against Europeans, charging that the continent is threatened with &quot;civilizational decline&quot;. Ties plunged further last month when Trump stepped up threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, forcing European nations to stand firm in protest. Ukraine war in focus&nbsp;German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged a &quot;rift&quot; had opened up between Europe and the United States, fueled by culture wars, but issued an appeal to Washington: &quot;Let&#39;s repair and revive transatlantic trust together.&quot; &quot;In the era of great power rivalry, even the United States will not be powerful enough to go it alone,&quot; said the conservative leader, who has ramped up defense spending in the top EU economy. The high-powered Munich meeting of government leaders, diplomats, defense and intelligence chiefs comes shortly before Russia&#39;s full-scale war on Ukraine is set to enter its fifth grueling year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been in Munich since Friday and meeting multiple allies, was expected to address the meeting on Saturday.&nbsp; No Russian officials have been invited. &lsquo;Get moving&rsquo;&nbsp;At the White House on Friday, Trump urged him to &quot;get moving&quot; to end the war.&nbsp; &quot;Russia wants to make a deal... He has to move,&quot; the US leader said. A German government source said Merz and Rubio met at the conference Friday and discussed &quot;Ukraine, the status of negotiations with Russia and further support for the country, particularly in terms of military aid&quot;. They also discussed Europe&#39;s role in NATO, and &ldquo;Rubio praised Germany&#39;s steps to strengthen the alliance&rdquo;, the source added. &lsquo;An aggressive Russia&rsquo;Macron said a new framework was needed to deal with &quot;an aggressive Russia&quot; once the fighting in Ukraine ends. Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said he feared &quot;a new cold war&quot; between Europe and Russia in the coming decade, making reopening dialogue with Moscow essential. &quot;If it makes sense to talk, we are willing to talk,&quot; said Merz, but he also charged that &quot;Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously&quot;.

Americas

British leader Keir Starmer is expected to tell the conference that Europe is ‘a sleeping giant’ and must rely less on the United States for its defense.

Rubio at Munich security meet to address Europeans rattled by Trump

NUUK: Canada and France, which both oppose US President Donald Trump&#39;s claim to Greenland, opened consulates in the Danish autonomous territory&#39;s capital on Friday, in a show of support for the local government. Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons. Last month backed off threats to seize Greenland after striking a &quot;framework&quot; deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence. A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington&#39;s security concerns in the Arctic, but details have not been made public. While Denmark and Greenland have said they share Trump&#39;s security concerns, they have insisted that sovereignty and territorial integrity are a &quot;red line&quot; in the discussions. Canada and France formally opened the new consulates in Nuuk, the island&#39;s capital. &quot;This is a very important day for us as a country, because we&#39;re opening our consulate here in Nuuk, Greenland,&quot; said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the inauguration ceremony, before hoisting her country&#39;s flag over the consulate building to applause from a 76-person Inuit delegation. &#39;Victory for Greenlanders&#39; &quot;It&#39;s a victory for Greenlanders to see two allies opening diplomatic representations in Nuuk,&quot; said Jeppe Strandsbjerg, a political scientist at the University of Greenland. &quot;There is great appreciation for the support against what Trump has said.&quot; French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to open a consulate during a visit to Nuuk in June, where he expressed Europe&#39;s &quot;solidarity&quot; with Greenland and criticised Trump&#39;s ambitions. The newly appointed French consul, Jean-Noel Poirier, had previously served as ambassador to Vietnam. &quot;The first item on the agenda will be to listen to Greenlanders, to hear them, to let them explain in detail their position, and from our side to confirm to them our support, as much as they and the Danish side want,&quot; Poirier told AFP before leaving Copenhagen for Nuuk. Poirier arrived in the Greenlandic capital on Friday, but does not yet have an office. Canada announced in late 2024 that it would open a consulate in Greenland to boost cooperation. That decision &quot;came as Canada was choosing to strengthen its Arctic strategy when Trump&#39;s return was expected,&quot; French researcher and Arctic expert Mikaa Blugeon-Mered told AFP. The opening of the consulates is &quot;a way of telling Donald Trump that his aggression against Greenland and Denmark is not a question for Greenland and Denmark alone, it&#39;s also a question for European allies and also for Canada&quot;, Ulrik Pram Gad, Arctic expert at the Danish Institute of International Studies, told AFP. &quot;The consequences are obviously not just Danish. It&#39;s European and global,&quot; said Christine Nissen, security and defence analyst at the Europa think tank. At the beginning of the week, Canadian icebreaker Jean Goodwill docked at the port of Nuuk, where it has since conducted a joint exercise with a Danish inspection vessel. Recognition According to Strandsbjerg, the two consulates &mdash; which will report to the French and Canadian embassies in Copenhagen &mdash; will give Greenland an opportunity to &quot;practice&quot; independence, as the island has long dreamt of cutting its ties to Denmark. The decision to open diplomatic missions is also a recognition of Greenland&#39;s growing autonomy, Nissen said. &quot;In terms of their own quest for sovereignty, the Greenlandic people will think to have more direct contact with other European countries,&quot; she said. That would make it possible to reduce Denmark&#39;s role &quot;by diversifying Greenland&#39;s dependence on the outside world, so that it is not solely dependent on Denmark and can have more ties for its economy, trade, investments, politics, and so on&quot;, echoed Pram Gad. Greenland has had diplomatic ties with the European Union since 1992, with Washington since 2014 and with Iceland since 2017. Iceland opened a consulate in Nuuk in 2013, while the United States, which had a consulate in the Greenlandic capital from 1940 to 1953, reopened its mission in 2020. The European Commission opened an office in 2024.

US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington's security concerns in the Arctic, but details have not been made public.



In show of support, Canada, France open consulates in Greenland

BRUSSELS: NATO said Tuesday that military planning has started for a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, after US President Donald Trump made protecting the region central to his demands for Greenland. &quot;Planning is underway for a NATO enhanced vigilance activity, named Arctic Sentry,&quot; said Martin O&#39;Donnell, a spokesman for NATO&#39;s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. &quot;The activity will even further strengthen NATO&#39;s posture in the Arctic and High North,&quot; he added, without providing further details. Trump&#39;s threats against Greenland last month plunged the transatlantic alliance into its deepest crisis in years. The unpredictable US leader backed off his desire to take control of Denmark&#39;s autonomous Arctic territory after saying he had struck a &quot;framework&quot; deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence. NATO said it would take steps to boost its presence in the Arctic after Trump used the alleged threat of Russia and China to justify his designs on Greenland. Meanwhile, Denmark and Greenland have kicked off talks with the United States over the territory and are expected to renegotiate a 1951 treaty governing American troop deployments on the island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that NATO countries back having a &quot;permanent presence&quot; in the Arctic, including around Greenland, as part of efforts to step up security.

Europe

NATO said Tuesday that military planning has started for a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, after US President Donald Trump made protecting the region central to his demands for Greenland

NATO says 'planning underway' for new Arctic mission

BRUSSELS:&nbsp;Denmark&#39;s foreign minister said Thursday he was &ldquo;more optimistic&rdquo; after technical talks kicked off with the United States over Greenland. &quot;We have had the very first meeting at senior official level in Washington yesterday regarding the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/greenland-dispute-strategic-wakeup-call-for-all-of-europe-says-macron" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greenlandic </a>issue,&quot; Lars Lokke Rasmussen told journalists at an EU meeting in Brussels. &quot;It went well in a very constructive atmosphere and tone, and new meetings are planned. It&#39;s not that things are solved, but it&#39;s good.&quot;&nbsp;Trilateral talksThe trilateral talks come after US President Donald Trump last week backed down from his threats to seize the autonomous Arctic territory of EU and NATO member Denmark. &ldquo;There was a major detour. Things were escalating, but now we are back on track,&rdquo; Rasmussen said.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&#39;m slightly more optimistic today than a week ago.&rdquo; Trump&#39;s threats over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/penguins-memes-and-greenland-trumps-viral-post-breaks-the-internet" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greenland </a>plunged the transatlantic alliance into its deepest crisis in years. The US leader backed off his desire to take control of Greenland after saying he had struck a &ldquo;framework&rdquo; deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence. 1951 treaty&nbsp;But few concrete details appear to have been agreed -- with authorities in Denmark and Greenland refusing to discuss handing over any sovereignty. &ldquo;I have stated on many occasions, we, of course, share the US security concerns regarding the Arctic, this is something we want to solve in close cooperation,&rdquo; Rasmussen said. As part of the compromise with Washington NATO is expected to bolster its activities in the Arctic, while <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/greenland-denmark-set-aside-troubled-history-to-face-down-trump" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Denmark </a>and Greenland could renegotiate a 1951 treaty on US troop deployments.

The trilateral talks come after US President Donald Trump last week backed down from his threats to seize the autonomous Arctic territory of EU and NATO member Denmark.

Denmark hails 'very constructive' meeting with US over Greenland

Maryam Shah

ISLAMABAD: The official White House account this week posted an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump striding across a frozen landscape toward Greenland, hand-in-wing with a penguin carrying a US flag. The caption was brief and cryptic: &ldquo;Embrace the penguin.&rdquo; Shared on X, the post raced past 30 million views, igniting confusion, mockery, and rapid-fire debate across platforms. Trump&rsquo;s penguin post landed against the backdrop of renewed US interest in Greenland.&nbsp; Earlier this week, the president said there is a &ldquo;framework of a future deal&rdquo; involving the semi-autonomous Danish territory, arguing Greenland is critical to US security plans, including a proposed &ldquo;Golden Dome&rdquo; missile defense system, and to access strategic minerals essential for modern technology. But the problem, critics quickly noted, was zoological, not political.&nbsp; Penguins simply do not live in Greenland, the Arctic, or anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Every penguin species exists exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, primarily in Antarctica. &ldquo;There are no penguins in Greenland,&rdquo; the account PatriotTakes wrote, adding: &ldquo;Perhaps you shouldn&rsquo;t have dismantled the Department of Education so quickly.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2014835024999186902&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=ebfb1c7c4793dc4344a331bf075173eae200a796&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 942px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi offered a shorter correction: &ldquo;Wrong hemisphere.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2014833837960786337&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=ebfb1c7c4793dc4344a331bf075173eae200a796&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 822px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Others went sharper. Conservative commentator Erick Erickson joked that the administration &ldquo;must be planning to invade Antarctica.&rdquo;<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2014845138988634474&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=ebfb1c7c4793dc4344a331bf075173eae200a796&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> Danish MP Rasmus Jarlov delivered the harshest line: &ldquo;The message from the White House is clear: Trump belongs in Greenland as much as penguins do.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2014871105450791309&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=ebfb1c7c4793dc4344a331bf075173eae200a796&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 846px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Some users interpreted the image as a nod to the &ldquo;nihilist penguin&rdquo; meme circulating online, inspired by Werner Herzog&rsquo;s 2007 documentary, &quot;Encounters at the End of the World.&quot; The film features an Ad&eacute;lie penguin walking alone toward the Antarctic mountains. A moment Herzog famously frames as a doomed, existential march. The White House did not immediately clarify the intent of the post. The Department of Homeland Security later shared a related image, reinforcing the impression that the symbolism was intentional rather than accidental. A familiar patternThe episode fits a broader pattern in Trump&rsquo;s online presence since returning to office. He remains one of the most prolific political figures on social media, regularly pushing out memes, AI-generated images and content engineered for virality alongside policy messaging. A recent Wired investigation reported that Trump personally types roughly 5% of his posts. The rest are produced by aides, including Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino, who convert the president&rsquo;s dictation into a steady stream of attention-grabbing content. &ldquo;The entire ethos and aesthetic of this administration is spectacle and subversion of norms,&rdquo; Dannagal Young, director of the Center for Political Communication at the University of Delaware, told CNN. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t do that through deliberation or argument, but through symbols.&rdquo; TikTok politics, penguin editionTrump&rsquo;s meme-forward strategy is widely seen as an attempt to connect with younger audiences. During the 2024 campaign, his TikTok account became one of the platform&rsquo;s fastest-growing, tapping into Gen Z&rsquo;s preference for visual, ironic and remixable content. The penguin post shows both the upside and downside of that approach. It captured massive attention, but lost narrative control almost instantly, as users reframed it through jokes, fact-checks and satire. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the strategy in a statement to CNN, saying: &ldquo;The success of the White House&rsquo;s social media pages speak for itself. Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the President&rsquo;s extremely popular agenda.&rdquo; For the internet, though, the takeaway was simpler: if the White House wanted everyone talking, the penguin delivered, even if it waddled in from the wrong hemisphere.

A viral White House penguin meme sparks laughs online, but lands amid Trump’s renewed push for Greenland, blending Gen Z internet culture with real geopolitical ambition.

Penguins, memes and Greenland: Trump’s viral post breaks the internet

COPENHAGEN: Greenland and Denmark have formed a united front to face down US President Donald Trump, momentarily setting aside the troubled history between them. The Arctic island, a Danish colony for three centuries, still has a complicated relationship with Denmark, which now rules it as an autonomous territory. Greenland&#39;s main political parties all want independence, but disagree on how exactly to get there.&nbsp; Trump&#39;s designs on the island led them to forge a coalition government in March last year. Greenland&#39;s leaders made clear last week they had no interest in Trump&#39;s bid to take over the vast island &mdash; an idea he pushed hard, before backing off on Wednesday after reaching what he called a framework deal on Arctic security with NATO&#39;s secretary-general. &quot;Greenlanders still have a lot of grievances concerning Denmark&#39;s lack of ability to reconsider its colonial past,&quot; said Ulrik Pram Gad, a researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). &quot;But Trump&#39;s pressure has prompted the wide majority of the political spectrum that forms (Greenland&#39;s) coalition government to put independence preparations &mdash; always a long-term project &mdash; aside for now,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;The clear European support has made this easier in the sense that the relation to Denmark feels a lot less claustrophobic when joined by others,&quot; he added. While the main Greenland parties differ on how to achieve independence, the growing US pressure led them in March 2025 to put their differences to one side to form their coalition. Only the Naleraq party, which wants a fast track to independence, stayed in opposition. At the height of the crisis, Greenland&#39;s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen made it clear that if the government had to choose between the United States and Denmark, it would choose Denmark. Colonial past Trump&#39;s talk of a <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/negotiations-with-us-on-greenland-to-start-fairly-quickly-danish-fm" style="color:#0073e6;">framework</a>&nbsp;deal <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-announces-greenland-framework-backing-off-force-and-tariffs" style="color:#0073e6;">negotiated</a> with NATO chief Mark Rutte prompted Denmark and Greenland to reiterate that only they can take decisions concerning them. In the last month of diplomatic back-and-forth, Greenland and Denmark have presented a united front, speaking with one voice. On January 14, Greenland&#39;s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt was in Washington alongside her Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen for talks with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. By Monday, she was in Brussels for talks with Rutte, this time with Denmark&#39;s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. But that unity conceals the scars of their colonial past. Greenland was a Danish colony from the early 18th century. It became a Danish territory in 1953, a full part of Denmark &mdash; before becoming an autonomous territory in 1979, a status that was strengthened in 2009. &quot;It&#39;s a long history. It has gone through different stages,&quot; said Astrid Andersen, a specialist in Danish-Greenlandic relations at the Danish Institute for International Studies. &quot;Any colonial relation is a question of domination and there have been some injustices committed.&quot; Forced sterilization Those injustices include a 1951 social experiment in which 22 Inuit children were forcibly separated from their families and prevented from speaking Greenlandic &mdash; part of bid to create a Danish-speaking elite. In 2021, the six still alive were each awarded compensation of 250,000 crowns (33,500 euros). Another dark chapter was Denmark&#39;s efforts from the 1960s and for three decades on to reduce the birth rate in Greenland. Several thousand women and teenagers &mdash; at least 4,000 &mdash; had IUDs fitted without their consent to prevent them conceiving. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has presented her apologies to the women concerned &mdash; nearly half of whom were unable to have children &mdash; and a compensation procedure is underway. Denmark&#39;s social services even used controversial psychological tests to &mdash; as they saw it &mdash; evaluate if Greenlandic mothers were fit to be parents. A 2022 study showed that in metropolitan Denmark, children born to Greenlandic families were five to seven times more at risk of being placed in children&#39;s homes than those born to Danish families. The use of such tests was only discontinued last year. The recent debate over these issues has, for the moment, been put to one side, said Andersen. &quot;Right now, I think there&#39;s a general agreement with a few exceptions that the common opponent right now is Trump and we kind of need to face this together somehow.&quot;

Greenland's main political parties all want independence, but disagree on how exactly to get there; Trump's designs on the island led them to forge a coalition government in March last year.

Greenland, Denmark set aside troubled history to face down Trump

COPENHAGEN: Negotiations with the United States on Greenland aimed at increasing security in the Arctic are expected to start soon, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Friday. &ldquo;We will get those meetings started fairly quickly. We will not communicate when those meetings are, because what is needed now is to take the drama out of this,&rdquo; Lokke told reporters in Copenhagen, adding that the talks would focus on &ldquo;security, security and security.&rdquo; Upcoming meeting in Nuuk Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will also travel to Greenland&rsquo;s capital, Nuuk, on Friday for talks with her counterpart there, following Donald Trump&rsquo;s climbdown from his threats to seize the Arctic island. Frederiksen wrote on X that she would travel to Nuuk from Brussels, where she held talks early Friday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who reached a purported deal with Trump in Davos this week about Greenland, the details of which remain scant.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (L) and Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen addresses journalists at a doorstep after a meeting of the Foreign Policy Committee at Christiansborg in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 23, 2026.

Says security-focused talks with the United States will soon begin, as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen travels to Greenland's capital Nuuk to meet counterpart. 

Negotiations with US on Greenland to start 'fairly quickly': Danish FM

COPENHAGEN: NATO chief Mark Rutte cannot negotiate on behalf of Denmark over Greenland, the Danish government said Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced a deal following talks between the two men.&nbsp;Trump backed down on threats to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trumps-plane-returns-to-air-base-after-minor-electrical-issue-white-house" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">seize</a>&nbsp;Greenland by force after meeting Rutte on Wednesday, saying he had reached a &quot;framework&quot; of a deal on the Danish autonomous territory.&nbsp;Details of the agreement made at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos remain scant.&nbsp;&quot;The position of Denmark and that of Greenland are the same, and no negotiations were held yesterday with NATO about our sovereignty,&quot; Denmark&#39;s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish television.&nbsp;&quot;Of course, it is only Denmark and Greenland themselves that can make decisions on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland,&quot; she said earlier in a statement.&nbsp;The United States and Denmark will renegotiate a 1951 defence pact on Greenland, a source familiar with the talks between Trump and Rutte told AFP on Thursday.&nbsp;Putting US military bases on Greenland under US sovereignty had not been discussed during the talks, the source said.&nbsp;Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on social media Thursday that Rutte &quot;cannot negotiate an agreement on behalf of Denmark or Greenland&quot;.&nbsp;However, he said Rutte had &quot;worked loyally to maintain unity within NATO,&quot; and it was &quot;very positive&quot; that the alliance wanted to do more to strengthen Arctic security.&nbsp;&quot;We have a clear red line,&quot; he added. &quot;We will not cede sovereignty over parts of the kingdom.&quot;

Denmark rejected claims of a Greenland deal, saying NATO chief Mark Rutte cannot negotiate sovereignty. After Trump's talk, Copenhagen said only Denmark and Greenland can decide, and that no negotiations were held with NATO.

NATO chief cannot negotiate for Denmark on Greenland: Danish govt

DAVOS: US President Donald Trump will show off his new &quot;Board of Peace&quot; and meet Ukraine&#39;s leader at Davos on Thursday, a day after backing off his own threats against Greenland. Trump abruptly announced on Wednesday that he was scrapping tariffs against Europe and ruling out military action to take Greenland from Denmark, partially defusing a crisis that had shaken the meeting of global elites. &lsquo;Board of Peace&rsquo;&nbsp;On his second day at the Swiss ski resort, Trump will seek to promote the &quot;Board of Peace&quot;, his controversial body for resolving international conflicts, with a signing ceremony for the organization&#39;s charter. The board boasts a $1 billion price tag for permanent membership, and Trump has invited leaders including Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin, Israel&#39;s Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hungary&#39;s Viktor Orban to join. &quot;I think it&#39;s the greatest board ever formed,&quot; Trump said Wednesday as he met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, another of the leaders who have agreed to join. Originally meant to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, the board&#39;s charter does not limit its role to the Strip and has sparked concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations. Key US allies, including France and Britain, have expressed skepticism, but others have signed up, particularly in the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia and Qatar have agreed to join. About 35&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-accepts-us-invitation-to-join-gaza-board-of-peace" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">world leaders</a>&nbsp;have committed so far out of the 50 or so invitations that went out, a senior Trump administration official told reporters on Wednesday. Kremlin studying invite&nbsp;Trump also said on Wednesday that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-says-putin-accepted-to-join-his-board-of-peace" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Putin had agreed to join</a>&nbsp;-- despite the Kremlin so far saying it was still studying the invite. The inclusion of Russian President Putin has caused particular concern among US allies, but especially in Ukraine, as it seeks an end to Moscow&#39;s nearly four-year-old invasion. Trump said he was due to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the &ldquo;Board of Peace&rdquo; meeting, as difficult negotiations for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war continue. &lsquo;Stupid&rsquo; not to reach a deal &nbsp;At Davos on Wednesday, Trump said Russia and Ukraine would be &quot;stupid&quot; not to reach a peace deal in the conflict that he said he could solve within a day of taking office a year ago. Trump repeated his oft-stated belief that Putin and Zelensky were close to a deal, although he has veered between blaming one or the other for the lack of a ceasefire so far. &quot;I believe they&#39;re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done. And if they don&#39;t, they&#39;re stupid -- that goes for both of them,&quot; said the US president. Witkoff to visit Moscow&nbsp;Trump has long been a skeptic of US support for Ukraine and says that it is now up to NATO and Europe to back Kyiv.&nbsp; But his belief that he has a personal connection with Putin has not brought an end to the war so far. The US leader&#39;s roving special envoy, businessman Steve Witkoff, is set to travel to Moscow from Davos with Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and hold talks with Putin on Thursday. Zelensky has meanwhile voiced fears that Trump&#39;s push to seize Greenland could divert focus away from Russia&#39;s invasion of his country. &lsquo;Framework of a future deal&rsquo;Trump, however, said late Wednesday he had reached a &ldquo;framework of a future deal&rdquo; after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte, and that he would therefore waive tariffs scheduled to hit European allies on February 1. Rutte told AFP in Davos that the meeting had been &quot;very good&quot; but that there was &quot;still a lot of work to be done&quot; on Greenland. Trump insists the mineral-rich Arctic island is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China.

Middle East

About 35 world leaders have committed so far out of the 50 or so invitations that went out, a senior Trump administration official told reporters on Wednesday; the board boasts a $1 billion price tag for permanent membership.

Trump to unveil 'Board of Peace' at Davos 

STRASBOURG:&nbsp;EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Wednesday the 27-nation bloc must move faster to boost its economy and defenses, faced with a new world order defined by &quot;raw power&quot;. Addressing the European Parliament, von der Leyen said Europe had to toughen up to influence the world around it -- while warning the United States that strife between &quot;allies&quot; over Greenland would only embolden rivals of the West. &lsquo;Volatile situation&rsquo;&quot;The shift in the international order is not only seismic, but it is permanent,&quot; she told lawmakers, citing the &quot;volatile situation&quot; around Greenland, but also Russia&#39;s relentless bombing of Ukraine and tensions from the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific. &quot;We will need a departure from Europe&#39;s traditional caution,&quot; said the European Commission President. &quot;We now live in a world defined by raw power -- whether economic or military, technological or geopolitical. And while many of us may not like it, we must deal with the world as it is now.&quot; &lsquo;Simply wrong&rsquo;Speaking as US President Donald Trump was on his way to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, von der Leyen described his threat to slap tariffs on European allies as &quot;simply wrong&quot;. &quot;If we are now plunging into a dangerous downward spiral between allies, this would only embolden the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape,&quot; she said. &lsquo;At a crossroads&rsquo;&quot;We are at a crossroads,&quot; von der Leyen told lawmakers, as EU leaders prepare to meet Thursday in Brussels to forge a common response to Trump&#39;s threats. &quot;Europe prefers dialogue and solutions -- but we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination,&quot; she said. Trump insists that mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China, as a melting Arctic opens up and the superpowers jostle for strategic advancement. But his push to acquire it from Denmark has enraged European leaders, plunging US-EU relations to an historic low.

Addressing the European Parliament, von der Leyen said Europe had to toughen up to influence the world around it -- while warning the United States that strife between ‘allies’ over Greenland would only embolden rivals of the West.

Articles tagged with "Greenland"