Nordic region seeks deeper ties with Greenland after Trump threats

COPENHAGEN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Nordic ‌government ministers will ​meet ​in Denmark on Wednesday to discuss elevating Greenland and two other autonomous territories to equal status in a regional forum, ‌boosting cooperation after U.S. President Donald Trump's push to control ⁠the Arctic island.

Denmark and its European allies have rejected Trump's insistence that the Nordic country ‌must hand Greenland to the ‌United States, launching talks last month between Copenhagen, Nuuk and Washington to resolve the diplomatic standoff.

Wednesday's meeting will focus on upgrading the Helsinki ​Treaty, adopted in 1962 by Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, to give full rights to the Danish-ruled territories of Greenland and ⁠the Faroe Islands as well as Finland's Aland.

The autonomous regions have for decades sought equal status in ​the Nordic forum, but were kept out of meetings focusing on security and related matters such as the war ​in Ukraine, leading Greenland's government in 2024 ‌to boycott the format.

"An update of the Helsinki Treaty will be a historic step and a future-proofing of Nordic ⁠co-operation," Denmark's minister for Nordic cooperation, Morten Dahlin, said in a statement.

Greenland will actively participate in creating a commission to update the agreement, the island's Foreign ⁠Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said in the statement.

"The process surrounding the Helsinki Treaty will be ​decisive in determining whether Greenland can be recognised as an equal partner in Nordic cooperation," Motzfeldt said.

While opinion polls have indicated that a majority of the island's 57,000 ‌people hope to one day gain independence from Denmark, many warn against rushing it due to economic reliance on ‌Copenhagen and becoming overly exposed to the United States.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik ⁠Nielsen earlier this month said ‌that if Greenlanders were ​forced to choose between the U.S. and Denmark, they would choose Denmark.

(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and ‌Michael Perry)

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