Leaders in Denmark and Greenland have fired back against US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats about taking the semi-autonomous island, according to multiple media reports.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark issued a statement on Sunday, telling Trump “very directly” that it “makes absolutely no sense” to discuss a US takeover of Greenland. The US and Denmark – and thus Greenland – are NATO members, covered by the Article 5 security guarantee, she reminded him, adding that Denmark has invested heavily in securing Greenland and has a defence agreement that already gives the US access to the strategically located Arctic island.
“I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale,” she concluded, alluding to the US president’s repeated comments about buying Greenland, which date back to his first administration.
The statement came after Trump told The Atlantic that “we do need Greenland, absolutely” following repeated verbal swipes at Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s new interim president, promising a price “probably bigger than Maduro” if she does not cooperate.
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Trump’s threatening rhetoric around seizing Greenland, as well as Canada, took on new urgency after US forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on 3 January after missile strikes on Caracas.
“Unfortunately, I think the American president should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland,” Frederiksen told public broadcaster DR on Monday, calling the pressure campaign “unacceptable.” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen took it a step further, declaring: “Enough is enough.”
“Threats, pressure and talk of annexation have no place between friends,” Nielsen said in a social media post on Monday. “That is not how you speak to a people who have shown responsibility, stability and loyalty time and again. Enough is enough. No more pressure. No more innuendo. No more fantasies about annexation.”
European partners are standing firm with Denmark and Greenland, reiterating their support as fears grow that Trump will deploy military forces against its long-time ally. A US attack on a Danish territory, Frederiksen warned on Monday, would spell the end of NATO and “the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.”
