ReutersA green sparkle, like a curtain of light pulled in the night sky, was formed next to the incredibly shiny stars above Nuuk late Friday evening.
The appearance of the spectacular of the Northern Enlightenment – a common wonder in these regions – seemed to mark the end of an extremely important day in the Arctic, which brought the hopes and challenges of Greenland to ice in the clearest relief.
It was a day when an acquisitive foreign power had sent a delegation not invited to the largest island in the world with an uncomfortable message.
During a brief visit to an American military base fell in the far north of Greenland, the American vice-president JD Vance may sometimes have tried to soften the declared goal of his boss to simply annex Danish autonomous territory.
“We do not think that military force will never be necessary,” said Vance, perhaps trying to seem reassuring.
But the vice-president’s overall message remained striking and intimidating: the world, the climate and the Arctic region change quickly, and Greenland must wake up to the threats posed by an expansionist China; The long -standing partnerships in Western security have followed their course; The only way in which the island can protect itself, its values and its mineral wealth is to abandon the Danish and stingy and stingy Danish suzerains and turning rather towards the muscle and protective embrace of the United States.
“We have to wake up from a failed 40 -year -old consensus that said that we could ignore the encroachment of powerful countries as they widen their ambitions.
“We cannot just bury our heads in the sand – or, in Greenland, burying the head in the snow – And claim that the Chinese are not interested in this very large terrestrial mass, “said Vance to the troops at the base of Pituffik.
If you look at a world map that has the North Pole in its center, rather than equator, it is easy to see how Greenland suddenly goes from a bland earth mass, easily neglected from what many analysts now accept as a diffusion of emerging power between China, the United States and Russia, for the control of the Arctic, its mines and its transport doors.
But the speed and contempt with which Trump’s White House rejected its traditional dependence on Western allies – NATO in particular – has left its disconcerted partners.
“Not justifiable,” was the heized response of Danish Prime Minister Put Frederiksen after hearing Vance attacking his government while he was standing on his sovereign territory.
‘Like a threat’
But 1,500 km (930 miles) south of the Pituffik base in America, in the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, American history has drawn attention with a very different local event on Friday.
“We are going to prevail,” sang a smiling crowd during a ceremony to celebrate the formation of a new coalition government for Greenland.
The atmosphere was mainly joyful and common, with people locking their arms and slowly swinging as a group played inside the city of city culture.
It was a powerful reminder of the shared values that bind the Inuit population of Greenland and the Indian population together – the need for consensus and cooperation in an often hostile natural climate, the desire to protect and celebrate Inuit culture and the wish to be respected by foreigners, whether they are familiar familiar but distant or marginally closer to America.
“There are many ways to say things. But I think the way (Trump) is to say that it is not the way. It’s like a threat,” said Lisbeth Karline Poulsen, 43, a local artist who attends the ceremony.
His reaction seemed to capture the broader atmosphere here – a recent survey has shown that 6% of the population supports the idea of being part of the United States.
The trip to independence
Under its new government, and with crushing public support, Greenland begins a slow and very cautious movement towards the full independence of Denmark.
It is a process that will probably take many years and that will involve a long dialogue with Copenhagen and Washington.
After all, the Greenlanders understand that their economy must be much more developed if their independence offer is to bear the chances of realistic success.
But they must balance this development against realistic fears of the exploitation by powerful external sales forces.
This brings us to the fundamental confusion, in Greenland and beyond, of the approach of the Trump administration towards their territory.
What does America want?
During his visit, Vance mentioned the aspirations of Greenland to independence and suggested that the true intention of America was not a sudden annexation of the island, but something much more patient and in the long term.
“Our message is very simple, yes, the inhabitants of Greenland will have self-determination. We hope they will choose to join in the United States, because we are the only nation on earth which will respect their sovereignty and respect their security.”
If it is really the American field – Mr. Trump’s messaging remains more aggressive than that of Mr. Vance – then the Greenlanders can surely relax a little and take their time.
There are still large reserves of goodwill towards the United States here, and a great interest in doing more business with American companies.
In terms of security, a 74-year-old treaty with Denmark allows the United States to increase its military presence in Greenland at any time-new bases with submarine ports-should surely take care of Washington’s concerns about China’s counter-menace, just like during the Cold War years.
What remains confusing is the impatience of Donald Trump – the same impatience he showed by trying to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine.
Unless you have Greenland, America could get everything it wants and needs this vast island without too much difficulty. Instead, many people from Nuuk feel victims of intimidation.
It’s deeply Counterproductive approach, which has already forced Washington to a humiliating rise – canceling a planned cultural visit of the wife of Vance, USHA, in Nuuk and another city in the face of the planned local demonstrations.
A kind of slower, more respectful, behind the scenes would surely have more logical.
But it is not to the taste of each politician.
