King, Murkowski, Senate Arctic Caucus Co-Chairs, Lead Meeting with Foreign Ministers from Denmark and Greenland

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), co-chairs of the United States Senate Arctic Caucus, hosted a delegation from the Kingdom of Denmark to emphasize the importance of deescalating tensions following recent comments from the executive administration about acquiring Greenland.

Attendees of the meeting included Ambassador of Denmark to The United States, Jesper Møller Sørensen; Greenlandic Minister of Foreign Affairs and Research, Ms. Vivian Motzfeldt; Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lars Løkke Rasmussen; Permanent Secretary of State, Mininnguaq Kleist; Head of the Greenland Representation to the United States and Canada, Mr. Jacob Isbosethsen; Deputy Head of Greenland Representation to the United States and Canada, Ms. Rebecca Joy Lynge; Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsenl; Counselor, Foreign & Security Policy, Ms. Bodil Riisom Pedersen, among others.

"In today's meeting, the Denmark and Greenland coalition reiterated to us that they are fully prepared to cooperate with the United States in any way to expand our national security presence in Greenland - an agreement which goes back 75 years. So, I want to reiterate there is no need whatsoever for the United States to own or occupy the country of Greenland in any way, shape or form to protect our important national security interests in the Arctic," Senator King said. "It was a very productive meeting and I'm hopeful that the administration will finally realize that taking Greenland over by a military force is almost unthinkable -to attack essentially a NATO ally. That would be the greatest gift to Vladimir Putin that this country could possibly bestow. I'm hopeful, again, that the White House was listening today and that they respect the sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark."

"Respect for the sovereignty of the people of Greenland should be non-negotiable, which is why I was grateful for the opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with today's Foreign Ministers from Denmark and Greenland," said Senator Murkowski. "Meetings like the one held today are integral to building stronger relationships with our allies that will continue to endure amid a shifting geopolitical landscape. The United States, Denmark and Greenland should be able to count on each other as partners in diplomacy and national security."

###