Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, called on the United States to stop "bullying" Greenland, describing the idea of the US taking control of Greenland as nonsense after President Donald Trump told US media that his country "definitely needs Greenland." The US leader cited strategic Arctic and security reasons for this interest.
Tensions between Denmark and the United States escalated again when Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a strong statement responding to President Donald Trump. She demanded the US cease its "bullying" behavior toward Greenland and described the notion of the US occupying Greenland as "utterly absurd."
Concerns about the annexation of Greenland flared anew after the US military launched an operation in Caracas on Saturday (3 Jan) to detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently held in New York. Trump declared that the US would "administer" Venezuela indefinitely to exploit its vast oil reserves. This event alarmed European allies, raising fears that Greenland could be the next target.
The situation worsened after a mysterious post by Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, a powerful advisor to Trump. She posted an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag on platform X, accompanied by the brief message "SOON." Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Prime Minister of Greenland, called this behavior "disrespectful" and reiterated that his country is not for sale and that Greenland's future would not be decided via social media posts.
President Trump reiterated in an interview with The Atlantic magazine and later aboard Air Force One that the US needs Greenland for national security reasons. Greenland's location in the Arctic is of critical military importance and is a source of rare minerals essential for high-tech industries. Trump claimed Denmark lacks the capacity to adequately secure the area.
Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark's ambassador to the United States, reminded Washington that Denmark is a NATO member and has significantly increased its Arctic security budget. He stressed that both countries should treat each other as "close allies" and respect each other's territorial integrity.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration's appointment of a special envoy for Greenland and its continued aggressive stance have caused significant displeasure within both the Danish government and the European Union.
. . .AFP