Denmark and Greenland called on U.S. President Donald Trump to end talk of taking over Greenland after he again claimed the U.S. “needs” the Arctic territory in an interview with The Atlantic.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the idea was unacceptable and unlawful.
“It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom,” she said, urging Washington to stop threatening a close ally and a people who have “very clearly said that they are not for sale.”
Trump said the U.S. needs Greenland “for defense,” comments that drew sharper scrutiny after he announced the U.S. would run Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen condemned the remarks as false and disrespectful.
“When the President of the United States says that ‘we need Greenland’ and links us to Venezuela and military intervention, it’s not just wrong. It’s disrespectful,” he said.
Tensions have increased since Trump named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland on December 21, a move criticized in both Copenhagen and Nuuk. Trump has repeatedly pushed the idea of Greenland becoming part of the U.S., and Landry has backed the proposal.
Greenland, strategically located between Europe and North America, is central to U.S. missile defense and is rich in minerals that Washington views as critical to reducing dependence on China.
The island governs itself under a 2009 arrangement but remains financially reliant on Denmark. Copenhagen has been trying to rebuild ties with Greenland while also boosting Arctic defense spending to calm frictions with the Trump administration.
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