Trump proposes to ban Russia and China from mining in Greenland

US President Donald Trump has put forward an initiative to ban Russia and China from developing rare earth metal deposits in Greenland. This was reported on January 23 by the New York Times (NYT).

"We are talking about three main proposals. First, strengthen NATO's presence in the Arctic, increase the number of alliance military forces in the region, and then give the United States the right to control certain sections of Greenland's territory, but not transfer the entire island. And also not to allow "potentially hostile countries" to extract minerals on the island," the article says.

At the same time, the publication notes that the Danish government, which has sovereignty over Greenland, publicly opposes the transfer of ownership rights to any island lands to third countries.

In addition to the restrictions, it is proposed to create a NATO mission called the Arctic Sentry. Its model will be similar to the alliance's existing groups in the Baltic States and Eastern Europe for monitoring and deterrence in the Arctic region.

Officials hope, on the one hand, to calm President Trump's concerns about threats to the security of the Arctic from Russia and China, and, on the other, to comply with Europe's principled position that Greenland cannot be sold.

The ice has broken: Greenland accelerates EU defense plans

There is panic in Brussels about the plans of the White House

On January 21, the American leader issued a statement following a "very productive" meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, which managed to outline the foundations for a future agreement on Greenland and the entire Arctic region. Trump also stressed that the negotiators would report directly to him.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.