Pompeo, in Denmark, says US will assert greater Arctic role

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the United States will become more active in the Arctic to counter growing Russian influence and thwart attempts by China to insert itself into the region.
On a brief visit to Denmark, Pompeo hailed the re-opening of the U.S. consulate in the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland and announced a new cooperation agreement with the Faroe Islands, another Danish territory in the North Atlantic, that will involve sustainable fisheries and enhanced commercial engagement.
“It’s a new day for the United States in Greenland,” Pompeo told reporters at a joint news conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. The U.S. consulate in Nuuk re-opened in June after a decades-long hiatus in a move that attracted attention because of President Donald Trump’s interest in purchasing Greenland that surfaced last year.
Kofod said the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland, which was roundly rejected and ridiculed by both Greenlandic and Danish officials, was not raised in the talks. “That discussion was dealt with last year, it was not on the table,” he said.
In his talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, as well as the leaders of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Pompeo said he had stressed the importance of energy independence, particularly from Russia.
The Trump administration is vehemently opposed to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and last week warned companies involved in the project they will be subject to U.S. penalties unless they halt their work.
Denmark’s environmental agency, which had been holding up construction of the last portion of the pipeline, dropped its opposition in October, prompting the U.S. to step up its actions to halt it.
The 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) pipeline is opposed by the U.S. and eastern European countries because they say it will increase Europe’s dependence on Russia for energy.