Donald Trump has said the US “has to have” Greenland, claiming it needs the territory for national security.
It comes after the US president appointed Louisiana’s governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland, saying he would “lead the charge” in advocating the semi-autonomous part of Denmark to become part of the United States.
“Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our national security,” Mr Trump said.
“We need Greenland for national security, not for minerals… If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.
“We need it for national security. We have to have it… Greenland is a big deal.”
Why does Trump want Greenland?
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement that Greenland belongs to Greenlanders, stressing the US will not take it over.
“You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security,” they said.
The country has already summoned the US ambassador in protest, with its foreign minister saying the move shows the US is still interested in the vast Danish territory.
Mr Trump has repeatedly called for the US to take over the mineral rich and strategically located Arctic island, since winning his second term, and has not ruled out using military force to achieve it.
Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said everyone – including the US – must show respect for Denmark’s territorial integrity.
How did we get here?
In March, US Vice President JD Vance visited a remote American military base in Greenland and accused Denmark – a NATO ally of the US – of underinvesting there.
The issue then gradually drifted out of the headlines but, in August, Danish officials again summoned the US ambassador – following a report that at least three people with connections to Mr Trump had carried out covert influence operations in Greenland.
The territory’s strategic position between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the US ballistic missile defence system, while its mineral wealth has heightened US interest in reducing reliance on Chinese exports.
Earlier this month, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service said in an annual report that the US was using its economic power to “assert its will” and threaten military force against friend and foe alike.
Read more:
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The report also highlighted the rising strategic importance of the Arctic to great power countries as “conflict between Russia and the West intensifies.
It went on to say that the growing security and strategic focus on the Arctic by the US would “further accelerate these developments”.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.
