Donald Trump makes fresh demands for Greenland at NATO summit
Updated . First published at
Donald Trump’s ambitions to take control of Greenland have been reignited during a NATO summit.
The US president was asked about Greenland at the event in Turkiye earlier today.
Donald Trump has threatened to pull out US troops out of Europe. Abdullah Güçlü/Pool Anadolu via AP
Trump blamed the Greenland dispute for his tense relationship with other NATO countries.
“Well, that’s what hurt my relationship with NATO because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark,” he said.
“Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland.”
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump’s explanation was not especially clear.
“But it’s an important part for the United States and it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships, and that’s not going to happen,” he said.
“The ships is, it’s not going to happen.
“It was Greenland that in my, and it continues to be. That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark.”
Trump then threatened to pull all US military presence out of Europe.
“We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe,” he said.
“Because as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago.”
Such an annexation would likely lead to the collapse of the alliance, with both the US and Denmark part of the organisation.
A Danish Air Force F-35 aircraft patrols over the east coast of Greenland. Danish Armed Forces via Getty Images
Greenland’s Foreign Minister Mute Egede issued a statement in response, directed at the territory’s people.
“Therefore, we must continue to take the situation seriously and face it with calmness, unity and a firm course,” he said.
“We must stand together at home and continue the close cooperation with our allies and partners.
“At the same time, we must insist on finding solutions through dialogue and respect. Our future is decided by us in Greenland.”
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected NATO allies to oppose the US ambitions in Greenland.
“It is a well-known position of the United States that it wants to own and take over Greenland,” she said.
“I hope that it is equally well-known everywhere that this is not going to happen.”
Both Frederiksen and Trump are at the same summit in Ankara.
Why does Trump want Greenland?
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, and has been connected to the European nation for centuries.
Despite its immense size, Greenland has a tiny population of just 56,000, making it slightly smaller than Wagga Wagga and slightly larger than Shepparton.
Greenland is the world's largest island but has a population of 56,000. AP/AAP
But the US has several military bases on the island, including the northernmost installation of the armed forces, the Pituffik Space Base.
Its location in the middle of the north Atlantic and its proximity to Russia over the North Pole has made the island strategically valuable.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” Trump said at the press conference.
The Pituffik Space Base, now operated by the US Space Force, is used to detect intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be fired at North America.
But the Danish government has done little to impede the US’s military presence in Greenland, rendering an annexation unnecessary.
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