Blinken: The Ball is in Iran’s Court

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 24, 2021. Virginia Mayo/Pool via REUTERS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 24, 2021. Virginia Mayo/Pool via REUTERS
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Blinken: The Ball is in Iran’s Court

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 24, 2021. Virginia Mayo/Pool via REUTERS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers an address after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium March 24, 2021. Virginia Mayo/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that building a stronger nuclear agreement with Iran lies on its full compliance with the 2015 deal.

“With regard to Iran, we have been very clear that the path to diplomacy is open. And as you noted, when the EU suggested bringing together all of the participants in the JCPOA to look at how we might come back to compliance with the JCPOA, we said yes, and to date Iran has chosen not to engage,” said Blinken on Wednesday following talks with other NATO members in Brussels.

“So as we’ve said, the ball is really in their court to see if they want to take the path to diplomacy and returning to compliance with the agreement.

“And should that happen, we would then seek, as we’ve said, to build a longer and stronger agreement, but also to engage on some of the other issues where Iran’s actions and conduct are particularly problematic: destabilization of countries in the region, ballistic missile program, et cetera.”

He also told reporters that he had a meeting with Washington’s E3 partners, with the UK, with Germany, and France.

“We are all very much on the same page when it comes to – when it comes to Iran, when it comes to our common interest in seeing if Iran wants to engage in diplomacy to come back fully into compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA. We are, again, prepared to engage on that. To date Iran has not been, but let’s see what happens in the weeks ahead,” said Blinken.



Greenland Independence Is Possible but Joining the US Unlikely, Denmark Says

The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)
The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)
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Greenland Independence Is Possible but Joining the US Unlikely, Denmark Says

The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)
The Greenlandic (L) and Danish flags are pictured at the Ministry of Finance in Copenhagen on January 8, 2025. (AFP)

Greenland may become independent if its residents want, but is unlikely to become a US state, Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out force to take control of the Arctic island.

Greenland's leader held talks on Wednesday with the Danish king in Copenhagen, a day after Trump's remarks thrust the fate of the mineral-rich and strategically important island, which is under Danish rule, to the top of world headlines.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on Tuesday he would not rule out using military or economic action to make Greenland part of the United States. The same day, Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to Greenland.

Greenland, part of NATO through the membership of Denmark, has strategic significance for the US military and for its ballistic missile early-warning system since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island.

The president-elect has indicated he would pursue a more combative foreign policy that disregards traditional diplomatic formalities.

Greenland, the world's biggest island, has been part of Denmark for 600 years although its 57,000 people now govern their own domestic affairs. The island's government led by Prime Minister Mute Egede aims for eventual independence.

"We fully recognize that Greenland has its own ambitions. If they materialize, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States," Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.

He told reporters the United States' heightened security concerns in the Arctic were legitimate following increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.

"I don't think that we're in a foreign policy crisis," he said. "We are open to a dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled."

Still, although Denmark itself played down the seriousness of Trump's threat to its territory, the returning president's openly stated ambition to expand US borders has jolted European allies less than two weeks before he takes office.

France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said Europe would not let other nations attack its sovereign borders, although he did not believe the US would invade.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed surprise at Trump's comments about Greenland and Canada, underlining that European partners unanimously uphold the inviolability of borders as a cornerstone of international law.

STRAINED RELATIONS

Greenland's relations with Denmark have lately been strained by allegations of colonial-era mistreatment of Greenlanders. Egede has said the island is not for sale, while in his New Year speech he stepped up his push for independence. Denmark says the territory's fate can be decided only by Greenlanders.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday she could not imagine Trump's ambitions would lead to US military intervention in Greenland. Denmark's military capabilities there are limited to four inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane and dog sled patrols.

Responding to Trump's threat of tariffs against Denmark, which according to analysts at Danske Bank could potentially be "quite harmful to Danish companies, Frederiksen said she did not think a trade war with the United States was a good way forward.

Denmark is home to Novo Nordisk, Europe's most valuable company, which makes weight-loss drug Wegovy that has become hugely popular in the United States, the Nordic country's biggest trading partner.

The Danish royal palace gave no details ahead of King Frederik's meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday with Greenland's Prime Minister Egede.

While many Greenlanders dream of independence from Denmark, the king remains popular on the island, having spent extended periods there, including a four-month expedition on the ice sheet. Last month, the royal court modified its coat of arms, enlarging a polar bear that symbolizes Greenland.

"I'm sure the king is really the person best placed in Denmark to deal with this issue right now because he has a long history with Greenland," Damien Degeorges, a Reykjavik-based consultant specializing in Greenland, told Reuters.

"He's popular in Greenland. So he can clearly be helpful to the Danish-Greenlandic relationship."

Trump already raised the issue of the US taking over Greenland during his first presidency, but his latest remarks still left many Danes baffled.

"I find it extremely ridiculous," said Jeppe Finne Sorenson, a data engineer in the Danish capital. "We have an alliance, we're allies. So this doesn't really respect that."