By Andrew Hammond

US President Donald Trump has previously threatened both military action and trade tariffs on much of Europe as he tries to acquire Greenland. The irony is that there is significant scope for a deal to be done that secures US interests, should America’s approach be based on skillful diplomacy that focuses on both security and commerce.

The public debate tends to focus on two main options: that of US military action or the potentially expensive purchase of Greenland. However, there are other pathways, such as an agreement along the lines of the Compacts of Free Association, which the US has with three Pacific island nations.

Denmark, an EU member state and NATO member, has controlled Greenland for about 300 years. In 1916, the US formally recognized Copenhagen’s interests in the island in exchange for the Danish West Indies, which became the US Virgin Islands. In recent decades, the autonomous territory that Greenland has become, with a population of about 57,000, has gone from direct Danish rule to much greater independence. Today, Denmark retains the powers of defense and foreign policy, monetary policy and justice.

The leaders of all five political parties in Greenland’s parliament this month said in a joint statement that “we do not want to be........

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