Donald Trump has warned he is “very serious” about annexing Greenland – and has not ruled out taking the territory by force.
The statements are not dissimilar to those the US president has made in the past, but after his administration’s unprecedented military operation in Venezuela last weekend, alarm bells will be ringing louder in the vast Danish territory.
Here’s what you need to know about why Mr Trump wants Greenland and what the territory’s leaders have said in response. Plus, what could the ramifications be?
Trump says US ‘needs’ Greenland for national security
Greenland, which is northeast of Canada, is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and has been for hundreds of years – but Mr Trump claims the US “has to have” it.
Straddling the Arctic circle between the US, Russia and Europe, the island with a population of just 57,000 offers a unique geopolitical advantage that America has eyed for more than 150 years.
Its location makes it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defence system, and it is already home to a large US military base.
The idea of taking Greenland is not a new one for Mr Trump, who raised the possibility during his first term in office by saying he considered purchasing it.
But he has since reiterated the benefit it could have for America’s national security, and has harshened his rhetoric.
Speaking to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News earlier this month, the US president said: “We need Greenland for national security, and that includes Europe.
“We need it for national security, right now.”
He said it was “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 he was “very serious” in his intent.
In late December, the president appointed Louisiana’s governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland, saying he would “lead the charge” in advocating for the territory to become part of the US.
Previously, Mr Trump mocked local efforts to defend the sparsely populated island, saying “they added one more dog sled” that would be no match for the “Russian and Chinese ships” he claimed were “all over the place” around the territory.
Is there really a national security threat in Greenland?
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, is among experts who have rubbished Mr Trump’s claims that Russian and Chinese ships are posing a threat around Greenland.
“There is no acute problem to solve – the Chinese and Russian ships that he keeps talking about are a figment of his imagination,” Dr Jakobsen told Sky News.
“There is no security threat to Greenland,” he added, explaining that China does not operate warships and submarines in the Arctic and that while Russia may operate the odd submarine near Greenland on occasion, “that is it”.
In fact, he says, there is currently no external threat to Greenland “save the US one”.
He says the US military already has de facto military control of Greenland, as it has since the Second World War.
“The existing base agreement with Greenland and Denmark gives the US permission to expand their military presence in Greenland and establish new bases if they perceive it as necessary,” he says.
He says Mr Trump would only have to “consult and inform” Nuuk and Copenhagen to strengthen the US military in Greenland, yet he has not done so.
Dr Jakobsen says this suggests that the US president’s annexing goals have nothing to do with national security.
Rich in natural resources
As well as its location, Greenland holds rich deposits of various natural resources.
Locked inside the island are valuable rare earth minerals needed for telecommunications, as well as uranium, billions of untapped barrels of oil and a vast supply of natural gas that used to be inaccessible but is becoming less so.
Many of the same minerals are currently mostly supplied by China, so other countries such as the US are interested in tapping into available resources closer to home.
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Dr Jakobsen says Mr Trump wants full control over Greenland’s resources and that this is the purpose of his annexing goals.
He says there is a “clear parallel” between this and the Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela, when the US targeted its capital and captured president Nicolas Maduro.
Mr Trump has been unambiguous that Venezuela’s huge oil reserves were a motivation for the removal of Maduro.
“If Venezuela was not so rich on oil, Trump probably would not have launched the attack,” says Dr Jakobsen.
In recent comments, Mr Trump has denied that resources are a factor in his aim of running Greenland, saying his sole concern is national security.
What has the response been to Trump’s comments?
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has hinted at catastrophic consequences if Mr Trump attempts to take Greenland by force.
“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” she told Danish broadcaster TV2.
“That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.”
A founding principle of NATO is that, under Article 5, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
Read more:
How Article 5 works
Analysis: Trump likely gambling he can get away with Greenland grab
Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Greenland or Iran – where could Trump strike next?
Experts have said Mr Trump ignored a similar clause in the UN Charter, an agreement between all UN member states, when he attacked Venezuela.
But Greenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has played down comparisons, pointing to the fact Maduro is an illegitimate president, having announced himself the winner of the last general election despite polls showing that he lost.
“We are not in the situation where we are thinking that a takeover of the country might happen overnight,” Mr Nielsen said at a press conference in the capital Nuuk. “You cannot compare Greenland to Venezuela. We are a democratic country.”
Ms Frederiksen warned that Mr Trump “should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland”.
“I have made it very clear where the Kingdom of Denmark stands, and Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the United States,” she added.
A joint statement on behalf of European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, stated: “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
Trump not scared of NATO fallout, experts say
Sky News’ military analyst Michael Clarke says that the US forcibly taking Greenland would effectively end the credibility of NATO as a collective alliance.
Security and defence editor Deborah Haynes suggests this will do little to deter America, which is the strongest NATO member.
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“It is becoming increasingly clear that Donald Trump is serious about taking Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally, despite warnings that such a move would destroy the alliance,” she says.
She says NATO is overly reliant on American fighting power, weapons and technology, meaning the other member states can’t stop them by force.
“He [Trump] is also probably gambling that Washington could get away with an Arctic land grab as the rest of NATO needs the US more than he needs them,” she adds.
She says the “biggest losers” in a NATO breakdown would be the other countries – and that the US president knows it.
