Trump’s Greenland envoy touches down in Nuuk

Donald Trump’s special envoy for Greenland has touched down in the island’s capital amid the President’s push to acquire the Arctic outpost. Louisiana Governor and Trump’s special Envoy Jeff Landry landed in Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday ahead of a business conference this week. In an interview with Danish outlet DR shortly after landing, Landry said that he had spoken to Trump before his arrival. ‘He [Trump] said go over there and make a bunch of friends, as many friends as we can,’ the special envoy shared.’I’m here to simply build relationships and to look and listen and to learn and see if there are opportunities to expand the relationship between Greenland, the United States and Denmark,’ Landry said when pressed on Trump’s desire to acquire the territory.

Landry and other US officials have been meeting with Danish counterparts about opening new US military bases on the island, the Telegraph reports. The US is also seeking veto power over any major investment deals in Greenland to prevent China from getting a foothold in the region , sources told the outlet. Closed-door negotiations between US, Danish and Greenland officials have focused on allowing American troops to stay on the island indefinitely, cooperation on extracting the island’s rich natural resources like rare earths and oil and the possible re-opening of a WWII-era US military base on the southern coast. The negotiators have met at least five times since January, the New York Times reports.

The President has framed his push to acquire the island as a national security imperative, noting Greenland’s strategic position in the Arctic, and China and Russia’s ambitions to expand their presence in the region. Northern Command boss General Gregory M Guillot has noted how Greenland could host part of an array of radar stations in the Arctic that includes outposts in Alaska and Canada. He has also said that the US seeks a deepwater port and a base for US special forces on the island. In January, Trump said that should his team fail to acquire the territory ‘the easy way,’ he would have to do it ‘the hard way.’The Republican first floated the idea of bringing Greenland into the US sphere of influence during his first term in 2019.

Since returning to the office, he has repeatedly doubled down on that. ‘We are going to do something in Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we dont do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and were not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,’ Trump said in January. Landry is scheduled to attend the ‘Future Greenland’ conference on May 19-20. Kenneth Howery, the US Ambassador to Denmark, is expected to join Landry on the trip. Denmark claims sovereignty over the island with roughly 57,000 residents.Danish and Greenland officials have rebuffed Trump’s attempts to claim the island, saying the territory is not for sale. The White House, the Louisiana Governor’s Office and the Danish Ambassador to the US have been contacted for comment.