Lower thirds:

0:03  Nina Haase / DW Chief Political Correspondent at Munich Security Conference
0:27  Jens-Frederik Nielsen / Prime Minister of Greenland

Script:

N. Haase [00:00:00 - 00:00:25]
The Munich Security Conference is an opportunity for political leaders to address the thorniest of issues of our time in frank dialogues behind closed doors. And one of those thorny issues is, of course, still the future of Greenland. And I have the Prime Minister of Greenland here with me again. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, thank you very much. What are your expectations for this year's Munich Security Conference?
J. Nielsen [00:00:25 - 00:00:40]
I expect to have good conversations with a lot of people about something that fills a lot in Greenland right now. The security and the surveillance in our region. And of course, in such discussions, Greenland needs to be on the table. And that's why I'm here.
N. Haase [00:00:41 - 00:00:45]
And who are you going to meet when it comes to the American delegation?
J. Nielsen [00:00:45 - 00:00:56]
I'm going to meet a lot of different people from the delegation - from institutions and senators and ministers.
N. Haase [00:00:56 - 00:01:07]
And has your population recovered somewhat from what many people call the Greenland shock, when suddenly your country was on the table so much?
J. Nielsen [00:01:07 - 00:01:42]
No, I think the situation still affects the Greenlandic people a lot, going through all the feelings you can imagine - if the biggest power in the world is talking about annexation and acquiring your country. There live people in Greenland, and they're of course not happy with the situation. A lot of them feel scared. So that's why it's so important to get that addressed, too. That we are actually a bunch of people with a culture, with a way of living. We are willing to work together and respect good manners.
N. Haase [00:01:42 - 00:01:46]
And what is your message going to be to the American delegation here at Munich?
J. Nielsen [00:01:46 - 00:02:12]
It's going to be what it has been all the time. Greenland is ready for to strengthen the partnership we already have. We have been partners and allies for 80 years, and we have been steadfast in that. We can build on it. I'm happy that we now have a working group, a diplomatic working group going on. That's a step in the right direction. So we are ready to do more, in mutual respect.
N. Haase [00:02:12 - 00:02:16]
Will you be meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio?
J. Nielsen [00:02:16 - 00:02:24]
Yeah. For now we have a scheduled meeting. But, you know, it's MSC. You don't know how things can change.
N. Haase [00:02:24 - 00:02:31]
And the Americans say that they want to install some sort of a Golden Dome. Is that something that you would agree to?
J. Nielsen [00:02:31 - 00:02:57]
From Greenland, we have said from the beginning, if you want to do more on defense, on surveillance, on anything, we can talk about it. We already have a defense agreement where we can do stuff. And now we have the diplomatic conversations. And so we will go from there. But we are ready to talk about anything when it's in mutual respect and in respect for international law and integrity.
N. Haase [00:02:57 - 00:03:13]
And the Americans always argue that the Chinese ambitions and the Russian ambitions in the Arctic are one of the reasons why they need to have access to Greenland, or possibly even annex Greenland. Is that an argument that you can follow, that you understand?
J. Nielsen [00:03:14 - 00:03:45]
I will say this: Of course, the security issue in our region is is there and we agree with the Americans, and we need to do more on security in our backyard and in Greenland. We are ready to take our responsibility to do more there. In terms of the arguments about the Russian and Chinese ships all over Greenland and so on. That's simply not true. But that doesn't change that we need to do more. And so I focus on what we actually agree on and we are ready to do our part.
N. Haase [00:03:45 - 00:03:52]
And when would you say is Munich Security Conference a success for you when you leave here?
J. Nielsen [00:03:52 - 00:04:29]
I think the most important thing is to to get addressed and get stated what we mean from Greenland and get the  alliance, the conversation with the institutions and the countries we work together with and then get stated some about the NATO frame, the NATO Arctic insurance. I think that's very important. We are a key puzzle in all of this game. It's our backyard. When you talk about security in the Arctic. So it will be a success for Greenland if we can get our statements through today and start a collaboration in mutual respect.
N. Haase [00:04:29 - 00:04:31]
And are there any red lines?
J. Nielsen [00:04:32 - 00:04:48]
Greenland has stated very clearly from the get go that we have red lines and we have mentioned them a lot. Now we have conversations directly in a working group. It has been stated there, too, but there's a lot of things we can still talk about.
N. Haase [00:04:48 - 00:05:08]
And some of the other issues here are of course also the strength of Europe as a whole. How do you assess that situation? Are the Europeans really wide awake now, as some of them are saying, that the time of saying we need a wake up call and we got one, are over, now they are acting. That's what they're saying. Do you perceive it to be that way?
J. Nielsen [00:05:08 - 00:05:54]
I think the whole world got a wake up call. And I think it's positive now that there they are ramping up. You can always say they should have done it earlier. But from my point of view, and for Greenland's perspective, a strong Europe is very necessary. It's very important we work close together with the European Union. The European Union has some great values that we share. Democracy, respect for international law integrity and so on. A lot of other parts in the world are actually challenging those values and visions right now. So I think a strong Europe is very important not only for us and for Europe, but actually how the world order is moving right now.
N. Haase [00:05:54 - 00:06:08]
One last question: Marco Rubio is set to address the Munich Security Conference tomorrow on Saturday. Last year, of course, we all remember that JD Vance caused an outcry with his speech here. What are your expectations for Mr. Rubio's speech?
J. Nielsen [00:06:10 - 00:06:29]
I expect he will have a speech on the security and so on. It's I don't know what to expect from what he will say, actually, but I will, of course, listen closely. If there's something about our region, about Greenland, then we will take note of that.
N. Haase [00:06:29 - 00:06:31]
Mr. Nielsen, thank you very much.