"Abandoning Greenland to Donald Trump's appetite would be a fatal mistake that would only fuel international tensions"
Chronic
The desire to annex the territory under Danish administration risks opening the Pandora's box of irredentism. The right of peoples to self-determination and the ecological catastrophe that would result from the exploitation of Arctic lands are written off as losses and profits, explains Stéphane Lauer, editorialist at Le Monde, in his column.
Published today at 04:30, modified at 14:54
I n 2019, Donald Trump's attempts to annex Greenland were interpreted as yet another extravagance. His return to the presidency of the United States this time invites us to take the threat seriously. The statements are multiplying without knowing how the world's leading power intends to seize this space of 2.1 million square kilometers, almost four times the size of France, populated by 57,000 inhabitants.
" Greenland is a wonderful place, we need it for international security, I'm sure Denmark will get used to it," Donald Trump said following his inauguration . Translate : the territory is full of raw materials, enjoys a strategic geographical location and the United States has the means to twist the arm of its tutelary power, a small kingdom which will find it difficult to oppose the evidence .
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did not seem convinced. She received a few days ago an acrimonious call from Donald Trump described as "horrible" by senior European officials , while she explained to him that the territory was not for sale. The latter did not rule out resorting to force to achieve his ends against a staunch ally, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
To satisfy the “need” to claim Greenland, Donald Trump is behaving like a polar bear in a china shop . It all started in early January with an excursion by his son, Donald Trump Jr., to Nuuk, the capital. After handing out a few MAGA ( “Make America Great Again” ) caps, he served a hot meal to a handful of poor souls recruited to cheer while watching a video in which his father explained to them that America would take care of them. The trip ended with a souvenir photo in front of a statue of Hans Egede, the Danish founder of the city who evangelized the region in the 18th century .
Specious argument
This colonization has not left only good memories for the Inuit people, far from it. But, while a process of self-determination is underway, this distribution of MAGA trinkets, as if the United States were already on conquered territory, does not bode well in terms of respect for the indigenous people. Just like Donald Trump's concomitant decision to rename the highest mountain in North America, Mount Denali, in Alaska, Mount McKinley. Former President Barack Obama renamed it in 2015 in homage to indigenous traditions. At least the Inuit know what to expect.
The next step is likely to be akin to a real estate deal—Donald Trump’s original profession—which boils down to one question: “How much?” In 2019, he detailed his approach to Greenland: “I look at a street corner, I say, ‘I have to buy this store for the building I’m building.’ It’s not that different.”
The Economist was already talking, on January 8, about the "deal of the century" , while the calculators were heating up to answer this horse-trading question. The evaluations, which are based on the precedents of Louisiana, sold by France, Alaska, ceded by Russia, or the Virgin Islands, already acquired from Denmark, result in a range of 10 billion to 77 billion dollars (up to 73 billion euros).
The right of peoples to self-determination and the ecological catastrophe that would result from the exploitation of Arctic lands to the tune of "drill, baby, drill" have already been written off . As if everything could be bargained for: the trampling of international rules, pure predation and destructive hubris.
The US security argument is rather specious . As Friis Arne Petersen, former Danish ambassador to the United States, recalled in Le Figaro on January 23: "The United States began the liberation of Europe via Greenland during the Second World War by signing an agreement with the Danish ambassador to the United States in 1941."
Moreover, the current status does not prevent the United States from having a military base there, which is an important element of its missile defense system . And American companies, including the mining company KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, are already investing in Greenland.
Guarantee of stability
The rush towards this white El Dorado risks crashing into the wall of an icy reality. The costs and difficulties of exploiting the reserves of the Great North are enough to dissuade . The infrastructure is non-existent, the workforce is rare and profitability is hypothetical.
Environmentally, the logic is even more questionable. We would witness a catastrophic chain reaction where global warming, supposed to make the Arctic subsoil more accessible, would accelerate even more before the astonished eyes of those who praise Donald Trump's pragmatism.
The potential runaway is not only climatic but also geopolitical. A few days ago, a prominent member of the Russian parliament suggested that Moscow also make an offer for Greenland . China is watching . The Pandora’s box of irredentism is opening, and America’s enemies have received the message loud and clear . “In the 21st century, you don’t behave like you did in the 19th century by invading another country under a completely fabricated pretext,” former Secretary of State John Kerry said in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea . Donald Trump is proving him wrong.
Thanks to Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the European Union has a say in the Arctic Council on issues involving an increasingly contested region. This presence is a guarantee of stability, which is more justified than ever. At a time when Europe must respond to the urgent need to finally think of itself as a power, abandoning Greenland to Donald Trump's appetite would be a fatal mistake that would only fuel international tensions. Everyone would do well to reflect on this Inuit proverb: "Time and ice are masters."