German Foreign Minister Urges NATO Allies to Unite for Security
The Importance of NATO Unity
By Alexander Ratz
Concerns Over Greenland
WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that NATO allies had to work together for security, and said Greenland and Denmark should decide the future of the island, which U.S. President Donald Trump says should belong to the United States.
Commitment to Article 5
Wadephul's comments, following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, came amid increasing tensions over Washington's aims toward Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark which Trump says is vital for U.S. security.
Response to Russian Threats
Wadephul said his talks with Rubio had been friendly and intensive and had underlined the importance of the alliance between European countries and the United States.
But he echoed other European politicians in rejecting Trump's avowed intention to take control of Greenland, in defiance of his NATO allies.
"We will only strengthen security in the North Atlantic when we work together, in solidarity and united," he told reporters. "So with regard to the issues that concern Greenland and Denmark, it is up to Greenland and Denmark to decide and it is up to people in Greenland to decide."
The standoff over Greenland has fuelled deepening fears in Europe over the future of the NATO alliance, which Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said would be finished if the United States seized the island.
Wadephul said he and Rubio had agreed on the importance of the alliance in efforts to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine and said both were committed to so-called Article 5 provisions in the NATO treaty that commit member states to come to the defence of a member state under attack.
"And in this period of uncertainty and crises, this is of decisive importance. It is a clear signal to Russia that it should not try to threaten the NATO alliance," he said.
(Reporting by Alexander Ratz in Washington; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
