European allies of the US have made more concessions to the US over Greenland than they publicly admit, Vice-President JD Vance has said.

"We definitely have gotten much more than we initially had," Vance said in an interview on the Megyn Kelly Show.

He suggested that the "framework of a future deal" - unveiled by President Donald Trump last month - would be of benefit to the US.

Trump's announcement came as a relief after mounting fear that the US was prepared to use force against fellow Nato ally Denmark to seize its semi-autonomous Arctic island. Trump says Greenland is necessary to defend against possible attacks from Russia and China.

Both Denmark and Greenland have said they will not agree to cede sovereignty. Their European allies have rallied to their support.

Greenland is sparsely populated but its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks.

Trump has claimed without evidence that it is "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place". He has also said the US needs to own Greenland to properly defend it.

More than 100 US military personnel are permanently stationed at a US base in Greenland's north-western tip - a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two.

Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.

Vance did not give details of what the Trump-announced plan contained that had not been available to the US before, but went on to repeat that the Chinese and the Russians had designs on the Arctic island.

"It's one of the unwritten rules that everybody knows that if the Chinese or the Russians affected one of our critical missile defence systems, we would necessarily defend that. But we're not getting anything for it," the US vice-president said.

"Let's rewrite the rules a little bit here and say that if the United States is going to protect the entire world's missile defence system - primarily our own, but other people benefit from it - we should get some benefit from the bargain."

It is not clear if Vance was referring to Greenland's natural resources - including rare earth minerals, uranium and iron - which are becoming easier to access as its ice melts because of climate change. Scientists think it could also have significant oil and gas reserves. Trump has said the "framework deal" would involve access to Greenland's mineral resources.

The US vice-president went on to accuse European allies of duplicity.

"It's so funny because the Europeans, they're so friendly in private, and they're willing to make a lot of accommodations, and then publicly they attack us."

"I'm sorry, it's all bogus," Vance said, adding: "The idea that they haven't made any accommodations or concessions to the United States, it's not true." (BBC)

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