Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen vowed Wednesday to defend Greenland against any attempt by the United States to gain control of the semiautonomous Arctic island.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Ms. Frederiksen said President Trump has made the U.S. position “unfortunately clear,” referring to Mr. Trump’s repeated calls to acquire Greenland.
“Greenland is, of course, not for sale,” Ms. Frederiksen said. “We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenlandic people’s right for self-determination”
“We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory,” she said. “But one of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other.”
Denmark retains control over Greenland’s foreign policy, national security and monetary policy, but Greenland operates as an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Ms. Frederiksen’s comments were delivered in response to Mr. Trump reiterating his desire to make Greenland a U.S. territory. The U.S. president’s comments have caused consternation at the NATO summit.
“Greenland doesn’t help Denmark. Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Greenland, Mr. Trump said, “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump doubled down on his remarks. “Greenland is a big problem for us,” he said.
“We took Greenland and then stupidly we gave it back,” he said. “We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States.”
Mr. Trump has long sought control of mineral-rich Greenland, saying he’s concerned that Russia and China are already making inroads.
In addition to its supply of critical minerals, Greenland’s location would make it an indispensable site for America’s ballistic missile early warning systems and space surveillance, and give the U.S. access to transpolar shipping routes.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the nations have set up a process for managing the Arctic during a previous conference at Davos, Switzerland.
“We have a good process in place,” Mr. Rutte said.
A senior U.S. official told reporters on a conference call this week that a U.S. takeover of Greenland is the only way to address long-term security risks.
“We still think that’s the best way to meet the defense needs of NATO with respect to Greenland,” the official said. “And as of now, the only solution that we found as to how to solve that is with the United States acquiring Greenland.”
Mr. Trump has ruled out using military force to take over the massive island between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
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