Denmark OK’s US consulate in Greenland months after spat with Trump

Denmark has approved a U.S. Consulate in Greenland months after President Trump floated the idea of purchasing the autonomous territory, an idea rejected by Danish leaders. 

“We continue, together with Greenland, the dialogue with the United States about development in the Arctic and the close cooperation on U.S. engagement in Greenland,” Denmark’s foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, said in a statement, according to Reuters. 

The foreign ministry has reportedly said it will need to approve the consulate’s leader, who is chosen by the U.S.

It was reported in August that Trump had asked aides about the possibility of buying Greenland, which Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called “absurd.”

Trump later canceled a visit to Denmark and indicated that his decision was related to Frederiksen’s response to his idea. 

Plans to open the U.S. consulate in Greenland were previously reported. The State Department in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this year reportedly said that the move was part of a larger plan to increase U.S. presence in the Arctic.

State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement in May that the U.S. planned to reestablish “a permanent Department of State presence in Greenland” and would work with Denmark and Congress to accomplish it. 

The U.S. previously had a consulate in Greenland from 1940 to 1953.