Linking Nobel Peace Prize to future of Greenland is ‘demeaning’ says Lord Empey
Following US President Donald Trump’s demands that Greenland be owned by the United States for ‘strategic’ reasons, Ulster Unionist Peer, Lord Empey, has described developments over Greenland as “unnecessary and counterproductive.”
President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on UK and most of Europe if they don’t agree to the US buying Greenland has met with widespread alarm and anger across the UK and Europe and indeed internationally.
Lord Empey said: “Not everything has a price, and one’s homeland sometimes cannot be reduced to a piece of real estate.
“To treat the Kingdom of Denmark, one of the US’s staunch allies in this way, is impossible to justify. Putin must be laughing his head off to see NATO in such disarray.
“This situation is totally avoidable.
“That there is a security problem created by aggressive Russian and Chinese actions in the polar region and climate change opening seaways is undeniable.
“In recent years the US has been reducing its footprint in Greenland although it has a treaty with Denmark that allows it to put whatever military assets there that it likes.
“NATO can work to satisfy the President’s legitimate concerns and raise its profile in the region. I see no objection to this. The issue should have been negotiated behind closed doors and not on social media channels.
“President Trump has been right to criticise Europe for too little expenditure on defence and also on immigration issues, but to link Greenland to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize is demeaning of his office.
“The economic consequences of tariffs on this scale can only be negative.
“The US needs to recognise that its companies have huge investments in Europe and the UK, from hotels, fast food, airlines and armaments.
“The US sanctions on China have been a flop and have driven allies like Canada into the arms of Beijing.
