1. VARIOUS OF BUILDINGS BY THE WATER IN NUUK IN THE SNOW
2. VARIOUS OF HOUSES IN THE SNOW IN NUUK
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (JANUARY 27, 2025)(REUTERS – Access all)
3. VARIOUS VIEWS OF CENTRAL COPENHAGEN AT SUNSET
4. (SOUNDBITE) HISTORIAN WHO HAS WRITTEN ABOUT GREENLAND, BO LIDEGAARD, SAYING :
“It has been the stated position of consecutive Danish governments that Greenland is not for sale and that it is inconceivable that a decision about the future of Greenland is taken by anyone but the Greenlanders.”
5. VARIOUS VIEWS OF BUILDINGS IN CENTRAL COPENHAGEN
6. (SOUNDBITE) HISTORIAN WHO HAS WRITTEN ABOUT GREENLAND, BO LIDEGAARD, SAYING :
“So this is not a question that the Danish government can decide beyond saying what they say, that it’s a decision to be made by Greenland and that as far as we are concerned, Denmark wants to continue the collaboration with Greenland within the framework of the Kingdom and want to continue supporting Greenland in its long-term goal of ever greater independence. But it’s not a situation, constitutionally, politically or otherwise, in which Denmark can make these decisions on behalf of Greenland, those decisions belong to Greenland, and to the Greenland population.”
7. SPIRE OF CHRISTIANSBORG PALACE, THE BUILDING HOUSING THE DANISH PARLIAMENT
8. (SOUNDBITE) HISTORIAN WHO HAS WRITTEN ABOUT GREENLAND, BO LIDEGAARD, SAYING :
“It is absolutely no surprise that the US takes a strong interest in the security of Greenland. Also it is no surprise that the Americans will not accept any other power to get a foothold or extend its influence into Greenland. That is off limits for the US and has been so essentially not only through decades but through centuries. So this is acute, it’s clear and it’s well understood. I think both in Nuuk and in Copenhagen.”
9. CYCLISTS BIKING THROUGH CENTRAL COPENHAGEN
10. SOUNDBITE) HISTORIAN WHO HAS WRITTEN ABOUT GREENLAND, BO LIDEGAARD, SAYING :
“That said, of course, whenever there is a tension, a friction, a demand on the American side, on the security side, it is something that we have previously been able to absorb, negotiate and agree upon. And I’m confident that that would be the case also this time around as would be the natural course of events between close allies.”
NUUK, GREENLAND (FILE – JANUARY 15, 2025)(REUTERS – Access all)
11. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING PAST NUUK KATUAQ, THE CULTURAL CENTRE IN NUUK
12. VARIOUS OF GREENLANDIC FLAGS OUTSIDE A BUILDING IN NUUK/GREENLANDIC FLAG WAVING IN WIND
STORY: The United States’ interest in Greenland over its security importance is “no surprise,” a Danish author and historian said on Monday (January 27) in Copenhagen, Denmark .
It follows President Donald Trump’s comments earlier this month, that Greenland was “vital” to U.S. security and Denmark should give up control of the strategically important island.
Historian, former diplomat and a political editor who has written about U.S. involvement in Greenland, Bo Lidegaard, said he believed Trump’s comments flowed from the fact that “Americans will not accept any other power to get a foothold or extend its influence into Greenland.”
The U.S. has long sought influence in Greenland, dating back to World War II, when it established military bases on the island.
Greenland lies along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the U.S. ballistic missile warning system. The U.S. maintains a permanent presence at the Pituffik air base in the northwest coast of Greenland.
Lidegaard further pointed out that in the past, American requests relating to security had been negotiated with the Danes and resolved successfully.
Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it was redefined as a district of Denmark, the official website of Denmark says. Greenland has it’s own government and two representatives sit in the Danish Parliament.
Although Greenland has a high degree of autonomy and self-governance within the Danish realm, it is subject to the Danish constitution, meaning that any change to its legal status would require a constitutional amendment.
In 2009, the island was granted broad self-governing autonomy, including the right to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum.