US and Greenland pledge 'mutual respect' as ambassador visits

COPENHAGEN, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The United States and Greenland pledged to show "mutual respect" on Monday as the new U.S. ambassador to Denmark made his first visit to the island in the wake of President Donald Trump's interest in acquiring the semi-autonomous Arctic territory.

Relations between Denmark and its longtime ally, the United States, have been strained since Trump revived talk of wresting control of Greenland away from Denmark, a proposal that has also met with deep resistance among Greenlanders.

Ambassador Kenneth Howery, Washington's new envoy to Denmark and a co-founder of PayPal, met in Nuuk with Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Danish government representatives at the U.S.-Greenland Joint Committee.

"We reaffirmed our commitment to a strong and forward-looking relationship based on mutual respect," read a joint statement from the committee, a regular forum on the American military presence there and other issues.

"The United States and Greenland look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead and strengthening the ties that support a secure and prosperous Arctic region," it added.

Motzfeldt said earlier in the day that U.S. comments about Greenland had created uncertainty among locals, and she stressed the need to speak openly with the United States.

"Our country and the United States have cooperated for 80 years based on common interests. There is a need to restore trust so we can continue good cooperation," Motzfeldt said, according to local daily Sermitsiaq.

Washington argues that Greenland, a Danish sovereign territory, is vital for U.S. security and its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.

Both the Danish and Greenland governments have ruled out ceding the resource-rich island to U.S. control, although Denmark has acknowledged neglecting the territory's military capabilities.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Terje Solsvik, additional reporting by Soren Sirich Jeppesen, editing by Ros Russell and Andrew Heavens)