German Foreign Minister Wadephul says there is more consensus than disagreement with the US

By Alexander Ratz

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Tuesday that there is more consensus than disagreement with the United States. 

“I am really returning calm, but also with the feeling that it is good to remain in close exchange in the future,” he said ahead of his return to Berlin following two days of meetings in the U.S.

Wadephul’s comments came amid increasing tensions over Washington’s aims toward Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark which U.S. President Donald Trump says is vital for U.S. security.

Wadephul reiterated that Greenland and Denmark should decide the future of the island.

“Questions of sovereignty over the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark will be decided by Denmark, by no one else,” he said.

The standoff over Greenland has fueled deepening fears in Europe over the future of the NATO alliance and transatlantic relations but Wadephul said almost all his interlocutors said they want to attend the Munich Security Conference in February.

“That shows the United States’ broad interest — across party lines— in a close relationship with Germany and Europe,” Wadephul said.

(Reporting by Alexander Ratz in Washington; Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)