LOCAL MP for Argyll and Bute, Brendan O’Hara, hosted a senior Greenlandic minister in Westminster last week, as threats from US President Donald Trump against the sovereign status of Greenland continued over the weekend.
Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business, mineral resources, energy, justice, and gender equality, joined Brendan O’Hara, who is also the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), as part of a briefing to cross-party MPs on the current situation facing their country.
It comes as President Trump reiterated his determination at the weekend to own Greenland “the easy way or the hard way.”
Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, has sent messages of solidarity to the governments of Greenland and Denmark following the sustained threats.
Brendan O’Hara MP commented before the meeting on Tuesday: “I am delighted to host Minister Nathanielsen. This is a timely visit and an opportunity to show the strength of our solidarity and support in the face of continued threats against Greenland’s sovereignty from the Trump administration.
“The future of Greenland is a matter for the Greenlandic people; that principle needs to be protected at this precarious moment.
“That protection will stem from European and NATO allies coming together, facing down blatant diplomatic bullying, and asserting that international laws—if they are to mean anything—can’t be brazenly trodden over by another NATO member.
“No one dismisses arguments around the importance of security surrounding the High North, but those same arguments can’t be used to undermine or trample over the security of any country’s sovereignty and their right to self-determination.
“It is my hope and expectation that Minister Nathanielsen will come away from our meetings firmly reassured that those of us on these islands and across Europe recognise the seriousness of the threats they are facing, and that we are determined to stand alongside them as we all face dangerous days across our hemisphere.”
