AMBASSADOR FULTON MEETS GREENLAND PREMIER

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SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR FULTON MEETS GREENLAND PREMIER

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(U) Sensitive but unclassified; protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary. Ambassador Fulton paid her initial call on
Greenland's Premier, Kuupik Kleist, August 14. Kleist
stressed that he desires close cooperation with the United
States and the Ambassador committed to continued U.S.
engagement in Greenland. Specifically, the two discussed how
to further develop educational exchanges between the U.S. and
Greenland, the prospects of addressing Greenland's many
pressing social issues, and the challenges Greenland faces in
creating environmentally sustainable economic growth. Both
Kleist and the Ambassador agreed that the
U.S.-Greenland-Denmark Joint Committee remains a useful tool
in addressing some of these issues, while others may need
discussion in broader fora, like the Arctic Council. The
meeting came one week ahead of Ambassador Fulton's first
visit to Greenland, scheduled for August 20-21. End Summary

(U) Change and Continuity
--------------


2. (U) Ambassador Fulton held her first meeting August 14
with Greenland's Premier, Kuupik Kleist, at the offices of
Greenland's Representation in Copenhagen. Kleist was
accompanied by Head of Representation Tove Soevndahl Pedersen
and Senior Advisor Adam Worm. The Ambassador was accompanied
by Pol/Econ Counselor and PolOff (notetaker).


3. (SBU) Kleist warmly welcomed the Ambassador and told her
he was pleased that she was meeting with him so early in her
tenure. Ambassador Fulton, noting that Kleist was also still
relatively new in his term of office, congratulated the
Premier on his June 2 election win and told Kleist she was
looking forward to visiting Greenland's capital, Nuuk, August
20-21. Kleist told the Ambassador that his new government
was still very much settling in. The election had been
historic, with Kleist unseating a party that had held the
reins of government in Greenland for the past 30 years.
Right now, Kleist and his government were working on next
year's budget, which he remarked was "not a joy." Still, he
was excited to be leading and was taking what he said would
be first steps to help Greenland establish a more stable and
diversified economy.


4. (SBU) Kleist congratulated the Ambassador on her
appointment and remarked that he had met every U.S.
ambassador for the last 20 years, but that Ambassador Fulton
was the first woman he had met in the job. Ambassador Fulton
pointed out she was in good company, as one of her
predecessors, Eugenie Anderson, who served 1950-53 in
Copenhagen, had been the first woman to carry the title of
U.S. Ambassador. The Premier also said that he and all other
Greenlanders had closely followed last year's U.S.
presidential election, adding that President Obama was
extremely popular in Greenland. Kleist boasted that he had
stolen a page from the President's own election campaign
book, stressing the need for change in Greenland.


5. (SBU) Citing geography and a shared history dating back to
World War II, Kleist noted that Greenland had always had a
close relationship with the United States. That relationship
had been re-launched in 2004 when the U.S., Greenland, and
Denmark signed the Igaliku Agreements, which updated the 1951
defense agreement governing the U.S. military presence in
Greenland. The Igaliku Agreements had also dramatically
expanded cooperation between the U.S. and Greenland beyond
just security issues to encompass culture and education,
environmental and scientific cooperation, and the promotion
of strong commercial and economic ties. Kleist expressed
hope these ties could be strengthened, and noted that "we may
need to review" some issues. He told the Ambassador the he
was looking forward to discussing Joint Committee and other
issues in detail with her in Nuuk.

(U) Setting a Common Agenda
--------------


6. (SBU) Asked by Kleist what specific interests she had
vis-a-vis Greenland, the Ambassador pointed to climate change
and December's COP-15 summit, public diplomacy and
educational exchanges, and women's issues. Kleist noted that
women were taking on an ever more prominent role in modern
Greenland, with many now taking the lead in seeking education
in Greenland, Denmark and abroad. (Note: Kleist's Inuit
Ataqatigiit, or Inuit Community party, led the way in
promoting women in the last parliamentary election campaign,
providing half of its candidate seats to women. Kleist's
government has four female and four male ministers. End Note)
Women were increasingly leading in Greenland as climate
change and economic development drive social change, the

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result being less prominence for traditionally male roles
tied to fishing and hunting. Ambassador Fulton noted that
the United States had undergone similar changes in its
history, particularly as some communities moved away from
predominantly agriculture-based economies. Still, whether it
was in providing assistance in confronting some of
Greenland's difficult social issues, or in helping young
Greenlanders seek out additional educational opportunities
and ways to connect with the broader world, the Ambassador
said that the United States was interested in exploring
opportunities for dialogue and partnership.

(U) Creating Sustainable Growth
--------------


7. (SBU) Specifically addressing climate change, Kleist noted
that Greenland had been the setting in recent years for a
series of increasingly large and high-profile international
gatherings. Kleist was happy for the attention, which
Greenland had been able to use to attract new tourism and
business interest to Greenland, but wanted to see more
substance. Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark,
was discussing with the Danes how to best balance new
prospects for economic growth with the imperatives of a
sustainable climate policy. When Denmark signed the Kyoto
Protocol, Kleist explained, there was no real industrial
development in Greenland. Now, Greenland faced the prospect
of real growth in its mineral sector and was negotiating with
U.S aluminum giant Alcoa to construct a large smelter in
Western Greenland. This project alone would increase the
volume of Greenland's CO2 emissions by an order of magnitude.
Still, Greenland needed room to grow and develop
economically, and Kleist hoped to reach an agreement with the
Danes on how to allow for this before the COP-15 summit in
Copenhagen in December.

(SBU) Ilulissat II
--------------


8. (SBU) Kleist also raised the upcoming "Ilulissat II"
meeting in Canada. Greenland had served as the venue for the
original Ilulissat ministerial, which Kleist thought had done
a good job of delineating, if not solving, some of the
difficult issues surrounding pursuit of resources and the
exercise of sovereignty among the Arctic coastal states.
Kleist, however, was concerned that Ilulissat II was already
creating some disagreements among members of the Arctic
Council regarding what the meeting should do and who should
take part. Kleist commented that, "to be honest, I'm not
really sure what the purpose is." Kleist wondered whether
there might be opportunities for the U.S. and
Denmark/Greenland to coordinate in advance of Ilulissat II
and he told the Ambassador that the Danish embassy in
Washington had recently approached the Department (Note:
presumably, OES. End Note) to discuss this.


(U) Joint Committee, Self-Governance
--------------


9. (SBU) Regarding the U.S.-Greenland-Denmark Joint
Committee, Kleist said he believed there had been good
progress. He felt that all three sides wanted to see the
Joint Committee flourish. Kleist voiced the hope that all
sides would continue to contribute resources and time to the
Joint Committee, where Greenland felt it was especially
important to focus on exchanges and to look for ways to
provide young Greenlanders additional opportunities to
advance their education.


10. (SBU) On the recently-concluded Self-Governance Agreement
with Denmark, which entered into force on June 21, Kleist
said there were two broad views in Greenland. One was inward
looking, arguing that self-governance made Greenland "master
of its own house" and should lead to increased Greenlandic
autonomy. The other view, which Kleist said he championed,
asserted that more self-governance for Greenland required
more engagement with the rest of the world, particularly with
Greenland's neighbors. Kleist said he viewed relations with
the United States through this prism, and wanted to do what
he could to encourage the U.S. and Greenland to do more
together. The Ambassador echoed that sentiment, noting that
the U.S. was ready to strengthen ties with Greenland.

(U) Comment
--------------


11. (SBU) Kleist is a savvy politician and it was clear that
he wanted to use this first exchange with Ambassador Fulton
to highlight cooperation with the U.S. He avoided more

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controversial topics like "CIA flights," or the 1968 crash of
a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber in Greenland, and in discussing
the Joint Committee he largely steered clear of requests for
dedicated funding (which we have indicated in the past will
not be forthcoming). Still, in the days following his
election in June, Kleist said publicly that he would be
reviewing most of Greenland's agreements with international
partners to ensure they were producing the best results for
Greenland, and Kleist at one point in his meeting with the
Ambassador noted that "we may need to review" some issues.
Kleist knows that the U.S. presence in and relationship with
Greenland is the largest and most developed of any
international partner's. Our security cooperation at Thule
Air Base, our growing agenda in the Joint Committee, and the
Alcoa aluminum smelter project all are reasons for Kleist to
look to the U.S. for partnership and support as Greenland
enters a new era of greater autonomy.
FULTON