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Thursday, August 22, 2019, 17:40
Trump’s ‘nasty’ label draws response from Danish PM
By Agencies
Thursday, August 22, 2019, 17:40 By Agencies

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Aug 21, 2019, in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON / AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s youngest ever prime minister has had her job for just over two months. But she’s already making international headlines as the target of US President Donald Trump’s ire.

On Wednesday, 41-year-old Mette Frederiksen made clear she didn’t want the US president’s decision to cancel a state visit to Denmark to become a diplomatic crisis. Trump, who axed a planned Sept 2 trip because he wasn’t allowed to buy Greenland, was still welcome to come another time, Frederiksen told reporters in Copenhagen. She also said that the US is one of Denmark’s closest allies.

PM Mette Frederiksen says she doesn’t feel her words were disrespectful. “I don’t think I have been blunt or harsh in this discussion,” she told state broadcaster DR

ALSO READ: Trump cancels Denmark visit over after rebuff over Greenland

But Trump lashed out later in the day. Frederiksen’s use of the word “absurd” to characterize reports of his interest in purchasing Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, was “nasty,” according to the former real estate tycoon.

Frederiksen says she doesn’t feel her words were disrespectful. “I don’t think I have been blunt or harsh in this discussion,” she told state broadcaster DR. “I actually think we have responded very nicely from the Danish side.”

“When you are close allies and good friends, like Denmark and the US are, there should also be room for disagreements along the way,” Frederiksen said. “I hope we can stop this discussion soon.”

Trump says he canceled his trip to Denmark, which was at the invitation of Queen Margrethe II, because of Frederiksen’s choice of words.

“When they say it was absurd -- and it was said in a very nasty, very sarcastic way -- I said, ‘We’ll make it some other time,’” Trump told reporters. “She’s talking to the United States of America. You don’t talk to the United States that way, at least under me.”

“All she had to do was say, ‘No we wouldn’t be interested,’” Trump said.

In an effort to defuse the tensions, US ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands, on Wednesday said that Trump “values and respects” the Danes and is looking forward to a trip at a later date. She added that “great friends and allies” like the US and Denmark “should be able to discuss all issues openly and candidly.”

The political brouhaha over the world's largest island comes from its strategic location in the Arctic. Global warming is making Greenland more accessible to potential oil and mineral resources. 

Trump was scheduled to visit Denmark on Sept 2-3 as part of a European tour. But early Wednesday, he tweeted his decision to indefinitely postpone the trip. The move stunned Danes and blindsided the Danish royal palace. Spokeswoman Lene Balleby told The Associated Press that it came as "a surprise" to the royal household, which had formally invited Trump.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke Wednesday with his Danish counterpart and "expressed appreciation for Denmark's cooperation as one of the United States' allies and Denmark's contributions to address shared global security priorities."

Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo and Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod "also discussed strengthening cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark - including Greenland - in the Arctic."

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, "Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time."

The vast island of Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, has a population of 56,000 and has 80% of its land mass covered by a 1.7 million-square-kilometer ice sheet.

For all of Greenland's appeal, scientists consider it the canary in the coal mine for climate change and say its massive ice sheet has seen one of its biggest melts on record this summer, contributing to a global rise in sea levels.

Frederiksen said she is standing behind the government of Greenland.

"A discussion about a potential sale of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen and I fully stand behind that rejection," she told reporters in Copenhagen.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen makes a comment about US President's cancellation of his scheduled State Visit, in front of the State Department in Copenhagen, Aug 21, 2019. (MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN / RITZAU SCANPIX)

Frederiksen, who took office two months ago in a minority Social Democratic government, went on to say that diplomatic relations between Copenhagen and Washington "are not in any crisis in my opinion" despite Trump's canceled plans.

"The invitation for a stronger strategic cooperation with the Americans in the Arctic is still open," Frederiksen said, adding "the United States is one of our closest allies."

Others in Denmark were not as gracious.

Martin Lidegaard, a former Danish foreign minister, told broadcaster TV2 that it was "a diplomatic farce" and Trump's behavior was "grotesque."

Trump's cancellation was "deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark," former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt wrote on Twitter.

Claus Oxfeldt, chairman of Denmark's main police union, told Danish media that authorities had been busy planning the third visit by a sitting US president to the Scandinavian NATO member. "It has created great frustrations to have spent so much time preparing for a visit that is canceled," Oxfeldt was quoted as saying.

Ordinary Danes shook their heads at the news, with many calling Trump immature.

"He thinks he can just buy Greenland. He acts like an elephant in a china shop," said Pernille Iversen, a 41-year-old shopkeeper in Copenhagen.

"This is an insult to (Queen) Margrethe, to Denmark," said Steen Gade, a 55-year-old road worker.

In Greenland, Johannes Kyed, an employee with a mine company, told Denmark's TV2 channel that wanting to buy a country and its people is a relic of the past.

"This is not the way the world works today," Kyed said.

The US ambassador Sands, was apparently not informed of Trump's decision ahead of time.

Shortly before Trump canceled the trip on Twitter, she sent a tweet saying "Denmark is ready for POTUS," using an acronym for "President of the United States" along with Trump's Twitter handle and a photo from Copenhagen's City Hall square, where a Dane had paid for two pro-Trump ads on giant electronic screens.

Trump said Sunday he was interested in buying Greenland for strategic purposes, but said a purchase was not a priority for his government at this time. Both Frederiksen and Greenland leader Kielsen responded that Greenland is not for sale.

"The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct," Trump said in the tweet Wednesday. "I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!"

In this July 31, 2017 photo the sun sets over Nuuk, Greenland. (DAVID GOLDMAN / AP)

Trump is still expected to visit nearby Poland beginning Aug 31.

Retreating ice could uncover potential oil and mineral resources in Greenland which, if successfully tapped, could dramatically change the island's fortunes. However, no oil has yet been found in Greenlandic waters and the thickness of the ice means exploration is only possible in coastal regions.

Even then, conditions are far from ideal, due to Greenland's long winters with frozen ports, 24-hour darkness and temperatures that regularly drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius in the island's northern regions.

American leaders have tried to buy Greenland before. In 1946, the US proposed paying Denmark US$100 million to buy Greenland after flirting with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for strategic parts of the Arctic island.

Under a 1951 deal, Denmark allowed the US to build bases and radar stations on Greenland.

READ MORE: Trump shows interest in buying Greenland, but Denmark won't sell

The US Air Force currently maintains one base in northern Greenland, Thule Air Force Base, 1,200 kilometers south of the North Pole. Former military airfields in Narsarsuaq, Kulusuk and Kangerlussuaq have become civilian airports.

The Thule base, constructed in 1952, was originally designed as a refueling base for long-range bombing missions. Since 1961, it has been a ballistic missile early warning and space surveillance site.

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