BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is making a stopover in Iceland this Sunday on the way to Washington. The CDU politician wants to meet his colleague Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir in the early evening on the island, which is just 300 kilometers southeast of Greenland. The meeting takes place against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s threats to take Greenland by force.
Like the USA and Germany, Iceland and Greenland, which officially belongs to Denmark, are members of NATO. Security in the Arctic region is also likely to be a topic when Wadephul talks to Gunnarsdóttir.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to take Greenland by force. He referred to the great strategic importance of the island and the recent large presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the region. Trump’s statements are particularly concerning because he did not rule out military and economic coercion to gain control over Greenland. The island is four-fifths covered with ice and is six times the size of Germany.
Trump’s threats against Greenland are also likely to play an important role in Wadephul’s conversation with his US colleague Marco Rubio this Monday in Washington. In addition to transatlantic security and defense policy, against the background of the ongoing discussions about a ceasefire in Ukraine, it is also about continued support for the country that was attacked by Russia almost four years ago./bk/DP/zb