Trump's new move on Greenland: "Violates the spirit of the agreement"

"An extensive search for oil, gas and minerals is about to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!"

So writes US President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social. Trump further claims that there is more readily available oil in Greenland than "almost any other country, anywhere in the world" and refers to experts.

No specific mining projects are mentioned. According to Danish TV2, the president can only refer to a project for oil exploration that may become relevant. It concerns the American company Greenland Energy, which has an older, valid permit for a project in eastern Greenland. Otherwise, the island's current governments have for over five years said no to various oil and gas licenses. Instead, they want to focus on renewable energy and protect nature, writes TV2's political analyst Ash Rostrup.

Donald Trump's post comes a few weeks after the United States, Denmark and Greenland signed a new cooperation agreement. Among other things, the agreement opened two new US military bases in Greenland and emphasized the island's sovereignty. Extraction of resources was mentioned mainly in relation to which states are not allowed to extract there, such as Russia and China.

However, the US has far-reaching mining rights in Greenland from before. In that sense, the statement does not therefore have to be a breach of the agreement. Instead, it is another part that makes Jan Hallenberg, associate senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute, raise his eyebrows.

- It violates the spirit of the agreement when Trump says "our new and beautiful island". That is the basis of the agreement from the Danish and Greenlandic sides. This is that it is an independent island. It decides on its own destiny and cooperates to a certain extent with Denmark, he says.

Danish and Greenlandic responses emphasizing the Nordic island's sovereignty to be expected. Otherwise, the US expert assumes that the US, Denmark and Greenland already have negotiations on future extraction and that such projects will then take place through a collaboration between all parties.

- The Greenlanders want investment, that their oil and metals are extracted. The Danes are in on it too, he says.

The fact that Trump chooses to present his statement as he does should be seen in the light of the fact that mid-term elections are soon in the United States, and that the president has faced some sharp political setbacks recently, according to Jan Hallenberg. One example is the sharp criticism of the president after the US concluded a new diesel agreement with Russia. Experts have emphasized that the eased sanctions risk worsening the war in Ukraine.

In this case, being able to highlight the possibility of making money in Greenland could be a way for the American president to shift focus.

- He always wants to describe his actions as prominently and positively as possible, especially in situations where he is strained politically, says Jan Hallenberg.