US Congress members visit Denmark amid Greenland tensions
A bipartisan group of US Congress members is visiting Denmark as a show of support amid growing pressure from President Donald Trump for the United States to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic.
The 11-member delegation is scheduled to meet Danish MPs, as well as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
The visit follows recent high-level talks in Washington that failed to convince Trump to abandon his plans. The US president maintains that Greenland is strategically vital for American security and claims that Denmark cannot adequately defend the island against potential Russian or Chinese threats.
Both Denmark and Greenland have reiterated their opposition to any US takeover of the territory.
Greenland is sparsely-populated but resource-rich and its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks and for monitoring vessels in the region.
The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base - a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two.
Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.
But Trump has said the US needs to "own" it to defend it properly.
He has consistently offered to buy it off - an offer rejected by Denmark and Greenland - whilst mooting the possibility of seizing it by force.
Denmark has warned that military action would spell the end of Nato - the trans-Atlantic defence alliance where the US is the most influential partner.
Nato works on the principle that allies have to aid each other in case of attack from outside - it has never faced an option where one member would use force against another.
European allies have rallied to Denmark's support.
They have also said the Arctic region is equally important to them and that its security should be a joint Nato responsibility - with the US involved.
To this end, several countries including France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK have sent a limited number of troops to Greenland in a so-called reconnaissance mission.
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