Greenland hosts annual talks with US at end of a year when Trump revived talk of takeover

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland is hosting meetings with American officials at the end of a year in which U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up talk of a U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich island, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The meetings Monday and Tuesday include those of a “joint committee” between Greenland and American officials, and a “permanent committee” that involves the Danish government, Greenland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Science said. Similar meetings were held last year in the United States.

Vivian Motzfeldt, who heads the ministry, said in a statement before the meetings that Greenland was “pleased" to host the talks as a way to ensure that the interests of Greenlanders and Americans were respected.

In a brief statement to reporters before the meeting, according to a translation of a report by Greenlandic publication Sermistiaq, she said that she wanted to emphasize that it was up to Greenlanders to choose their own future.

Kenneth Howery, the U.S. ambassador in Copenhagen, said that the “joint committee” relationship dates back more than a generation — but the friendship is far older, according to an email of his comments from the embassy.

“The United States values our friendship with Greenland, which goes back more than 80 years,” said Howery, who was joined by Brendan Hanrahan, a senior U.S. State Department official. “We respect the people of Greenland’s right to determine their future."

The Danish Foreign Ministry and the Greenland Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Science didn't immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Trump stirred concerns earlier this year in Greenland, Denmark and the European Union, which counts Denmark among its 27 member countries, by reviving talk of a U.S. takeover of Greenland after returning to office for his second term.

The issue had drifted off headlines in recent months, but in August, Danish officials summoned the U.S. ambassador following a report that at least three people with connections to Trump had carried out covert influence operations in Greenland.

Earlier this year, U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited a remote U.S. military base on the island and accused Denmark of underinvesting there.

Trump has said that Greenland is crucial for U.S. security and hasn’t ruled out taking the island by military force, even though Denmark is a NATO ally of the U.S.

FILE - A plane carrying Donald Trump Jr. lands in Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Emil Stach/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, file)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two men found alive among 17 dead bodies in a partially sunken migrant boat south of the island of Crete over the weekend told Greek authorities the vessel had been carrying a total of 34 people, and that 15 had fallen overboard and were missing, Greece’s coast guard said Monday.

A search and rescue operation was underway, the coast guard said, but strong winds and rough seas have been hampering efforts.

On Saturday, the coast guard said a passing Turkish merchant vessel had come across the half-sunken migrant boat 36 nautical miles (41 miles, 66 kilometers) southwest of the town of Ierapetra in southern Crete. Seventeen of the passengers on board, all men, were already dead, and there were only two survivors, the coast guard said, revising its initial count of 18 bodies.

The survivors, both from Egypt, were transported to a hospital in Crete, and the bodies were taken to a morgue on the island for autopsies, the coast guard said.

The survivors later told authorities there had been a total of 34 people from Egypt, South Sudan and Sudan on board the vessel, which had set sail from Tobruk in Libya on the night of Dec. 1. The boat suffered engine failure the following day and began to drift. Fifteen of those on board fell into the water and went missing, authorities said.

Separately, the coast guard said the body of a boy was found along with 37 survivors from Syria and Afghanistan who had been transported to the eastern Aegean island of Samos on board a migrant smuggling speedboat Monday. The speedboat was later found run aground in a nearby cove, while the smuggler evaded capture, the coast guard said.

Greece is a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Fatal accidents are a common occurrence. The preferred route used to be the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands. But increased patrols and allegations of pushbacks — summary deportations without allowing for asylum applications — by Greek authorities reduced crossing attempts.

Instead, many migrants are undertaking the much longer sea crossing across the Mediterranean from North Africa, particularly from Libya, using roughly made wooden boats, large inflatable dinghies or old dilapidated fishing vessels.

FILE - Migrants rescued south of Crete wait to be registered on their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, file)