Grönlands Jens-Frederik Nielsen ist die Ballkönigin

Vivian Salama: “The coffee corner at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich is so mobbed with diplomats and executives exchanging business cards and guzzling caffeine that it’s easy to miss even the most recognizable faces. And Jens-Frederik Nielsen is not one of those.

“Still, the baby-faced prime minister of Greenland was surrounded by throngs of people looking to shake his hand, pass him their card, or take a selfie with him at the annual Munich Security Conference, the first major get-together of European defense and security officials since his country became the center of a geopolitical melee. Nielsen, who is 34 years old, assumed office less than a year ago but has spent much of his term facing an assault on Greenland’s sovereignty by President Trump, who wants to acquire or annex the autonomous Danish territory—whether its citizens want it or not.

“Over the thrumming of cappuccino machines and the clinking of coffee mugs, Nielsen told me he was having none of it. ‘That’s a red line,’ he said. ‘We will not give away territory and compromise our integrity.’

“Greenland has been the unlikely belle of the Munich ball as U.S., European, NATO, and other leaders try to hash out just how serious Trump’s threats are. Trump says he has ruled out taking Greenland by force. But given that he also earlier this year ordered a military raid, without Congressional approval, on Venezuela to remove its president, no one here views the crisis as over, especially not Nielsen. As I spoke with the prime minister, the White House released a series of satirical Valentine’s Day cards—among them, one with the map of Greenland inside a heart. The caption reads: ‘It’s time we define our situationship.’

“Nielsen, with Scandinavian restraint, acknowledged that his country has faced ‘tense periods’ of late. It will almost certainly face more soon. White House officials tell me the president remains fixated on Greenland and is unlikely to back down, even though there are now high-level talks underway about boosting the U.S. military presence there. At this month’s annual black-tie dinner at the Alfalfa Club (a Washington, D.C. society for muckety-mucks from politics and business), attendees told me that President Trump, in private conversations, reinforced his desire to ‘buy’ Greenland, not invade it. (The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.)

“When I shared that with Nielsen, he looked frustrated, but not surprised. ‘That is not acceptable,’ he said. ‘We will not give it away. But in terms of more military personnel, and in terms of more cooperation and so on, let’s talk. Let’s have a conversation about it. We can figure things out.’”

Read more: [https://theatln.tc/hFIuPGic](https://theatln.tc/hFIuPGic)