US delegation arrives in Copenhagen as row over Greenland escalates

A delegation of US lawmakers arrived on Friday at the Industry House in central Copenhagen for a working lunch with Danish business leaders, as diplomatic tensions persist over Washington's statements regarding Greenland.

The group traveled from the parliament building, Christiansborg, to the headquarters of the Confederation of Danish Industry, where discussions were expected to focus on economic ties between the two countries and Denmark's broader efforts to rally support over Greenland.

US Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said the delegation wanted to underline long-standing ties with both Denmark and Greenland, Danish news agency DR reported.

"We have been friends and allies with Denmark and Greenland for decades. We want them to know that we greatly appreciate that," Durbin said.

He added that recent remarks by President Donald Trump "do not align with what the American people feel and believe."

Meanwhile, the speaker of the Danish parliament and former defense minister, Soren Gade, said he has changed his view of the US in recent times because of the tone of the American administration toward Greenland.

"I never thought I would speak critically about the United States. But if I am to be able to look Danish veterans in the eye in the future, I can no longer remain silent," he wrote on US social media platform Facebook.

Gade called the US tone "indecent."

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory of strategic importance in the Arctic.

The White House said Thursday that the deployment of European troops to Greenland would not affect Trump's plans to take control of the island.

Meanwhile, Germany, France, Sweden and Norway announced earlier this week that they would deploy a joint mission to Greenland, shortly after talks in Washington between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials failed to resolve key disagreements over the island.