By Dave Graham
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) – An agreement on sharing responsibility for the security of the Arctic and the North Atlantic could provide a way out of the stand-off between the United States and Europe over Greenland, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday.
Nauseda told Reuters an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting that the Greenland row was overshadowing the war in Ukraine and playing into Russia’s hands, and urged Washington to de-escalate tensions.
“The best outcome would be just to agree on common responsibility on the security of the Arctic region and North Atlantic region. Is it possible to achieve? We should do our best to go this way, because this is the best way,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was “no going back” on his aim of acquiring Greenland, refusing to rule out taking the Arctic island by force and rounding on allies.
Trump’s ambition to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark has threatened to blow apart the alliance that has underpinned Western security for decades.
EU leaders are due to discuss their options at an emergency summit on Thursday which Nauseda said would show whether Europe can present a united front over Greenland. He said the next two weeks would probably show how the dispute is resolved.
Nauseda said he hoped countries that can be sceptical about supporting Ukraine would understand that Europe has reached a critical juncture, arguing NATO’s future is at stake.
Trump is due to speak in Davos on Wednesday, and Nauseda said his hope was that the U.S. President would send out some signals towards de-escalating tensions over Greenland.
Describing upholding territorial integrity as an “untouchable principle,” Nauseda said there was always room to de-escalate.
“But of course the precondition is that both sides want this de-escalation, and now I’m not sure. Europe is obviously willing to de-escalate. I hope that the United States will be too.”
The Lithuanian president said the Greenland dispute had diverted attention away from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, posing additional challenges for Europe’s eastern flank.
Ongoing support from Washington was vital while Europe set about taking on responsibility for its own security, he said.
“Europe needs time in order to implement this strategic autonomy, not only on paper, but in reality,” Nauseda said.
“We need 10 to 15 years’ time,” he added.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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