MNI: A US-Greenlander Deal Hard To Oppose - Italy Official

European governments would find it difficult to oppose a U.S. takeover of Greenland should Washington strike a deal directly with the island’s inhabitants, an Italian government official told MNI, though he pointed to last year’s Greenlandic election results which were widely interpreted as rejecting U.S. overtures.

The issue is unlikely to be resolved in the short term, the official said, adding that the views of the Greenlanders will be key and stressing Italy’s strong support for Greenland to remain as part of Denmark and the European Union.

“All this points to a long road ahead before any final outcome”, said the official, who requested anonymity.

The official said that the bloc is ready to take a tough approach to keep Greenland in the EU but saw only a very low chance that the U.S. would take the island by force. It would make no sense for Italy to send troops to defend a potential move on Greenland by an ally, he said.

Earlier this week Italy along other European states signed a document stating that it is for Denmark and Greenland alone to decide on matters concerning them.

The U.S. interest in Greenland is more motivated by the growing strategic importance of the Arctic region than by natural resources, the Italian official said, adding that this left room for an agreement between allied states.