Naleraq: Greenland should not be an enemy of Russia

The Naleraq chairman warns that military buildup in Greenland could make the country a military target for Russia. He wants to focus on civilian surveillance and diplomacy.

Arctic Command is ramping up over the summer, with a series of training exercises involving the frigate Niels Juul, Arctic Basic Training and an army staff, as well as two helicopters and two F-16s.

This now makes Pele Broberg, chairman of Naleraq, shout “guard in arms.”

He is concerned that the new capabilities will be seen as a provocation from Russia, placing Greenland as a military target.

– It is not because we are against military capabilities, but we are against an armament that can act as a provocation.

Russian enemy

In 2022, Reuters wrote that since 2014, Russia has reopened 24 military bases in the Arctic – a third more than all NATO countries in the Arctic.

It is precisely this buildup on the Russian side that, according to the head of Arctic Command, is the reason for the increased training and buildup over the summer.

Although Pele Broberg is not against increased capabilities, he believes that it should be kept civilian-based without a military purpose.

– I know that the United States has a need for surveillance, and so do we. We are not against military capabilities, but we are against an armament that could act as a provocation.

Who do you think this might provoke?

Who do you think this might provoke?

– It is a provocation towards Russia, which sees it as an increased point of tension. When you invite French soldiers and talk about armament in Greenland instead of talking about surveillance and SAR, it threatens their sovereignty.

KNR has spoken to Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, associate professor at the Center for Arctic Security Studies at the Norwegian Defense Academy. He believes that although Greenland can play an important military role, the real threat from Russia in the Arctic is over in Norway.

real

Therefore, he does not believe that Russia poses a real threat – even with a major military buildup in Greenland.

Suppository to Denmark

According to Pele Broberg, Greenland is not a military target for Russia, and Greenland is not an enemy of Russia. But he believes that the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen in particular, is changing that.

– I am concerned about the tone that Mette Frederiksen has adopted, where she is very much on a war footing with Russia and has allowed herself to say on behalf of Greenland that Greenland is an enemy of Russia. She must be very careful with that rhetoric.

But she didn’t say those words.

But she hasn’t said those words.

– It comes as close as it can get, says Pele Broberg.

– We must be careful not to adopt a belligerent attitude towards Russia before we have our own opinion. We must be careful which bridges we are burning when we follow Denmark, which is happy to burn bridges for us.