Donald Trump has doubled down on his territorial ambitions for Greenland – despite warnings that his plans for the Danish territory could destroy NATO.
The US president has been vocal about his desire to take control of the self-governing, mineral-rich Arctic island since returning to the White House, despite America and Denmark being NATO allies.
Speaking after a US raid captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, he told The Atlantic “we need it for defence”.
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has since warned that, in the event of a US invasion of the territory, “everything stops… including NATO”.
And though Sir Keir Starmer has thrown his weight behind his Danish counterpart, Mr Trump has refused to back down, insisting he needs the island “right now”.
‘We need it for national security’
Speaking to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Monday evening, the US president said: “We need Greenland for national security, and that includes Europe.
“You know I’m very loyal to Europe. We need it for national security, right now.
“I think that Greenland is very important for the national security of the United States, Europe, and other parts of the free world.”
He also said he had “no timeline” for taking action, but maintained that he is “very serious” in his intent.
US has no right to Greenland, says Danish PM
In her statement on Sunday, Ms Frederiksen said: “It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the US needing to take over Greenland.
“The US has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom.
“I would therefore strongly urge the US to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly said that they are not for sale.”
Responding, Sir Keir told Sky News: “I stand with her. She’s right about the future of Greenland.”
He said: “Denmark is a close European ally, a close NATO ally. And the future therefore has to be for Greenland, for the Kingdom of Denmark, and only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Sir Keir is set to meet fellow international leaders on Tuesday for the first time since the Venezuela raid. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, is hosting a summit of Ukraine’s Coalition of the Willing allies in Paris.
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Echoing the Danish prime minister, former defence secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News’ Politics Hub that the US annexing Greenland “would be a very, very severe crisis for NATO”.
He also warned Vladimir Putin could be emboldened by Mr Trump demonstrating that “legality doesn’t matter” if “you’re the biggest boy in the playground”.
Sir Ben added: “If the biggest backer of NATO, the man who currently provides 70% of the capability of NATO, decides that he’s not for that any more, or indeed isn’t going to be triggered by the breach of the sort of alliance, that’s much more dangerous.”
To justify his actions on the international stage, Mr Trump has used the Monroe Doctrine – named for former US president James Monroe, who asserted the right of the US to intervene in foreign affairs across the Americas in its own interest.
Mr Trump has now renamed it the Donroe Doctrine, proclaiming “we have superseded it by a lot” and “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again”.
The US has a military base in Greenland, but its people have shown no appetite for a full American takeover.
Vice President JD Vance was given the cold shoulder during a visit last year, and the head of the US base was sacked after criticising comments he made during his trip.
