WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that “anything less” than US control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” adding that the US needs Greenland for national security.
In a post on his social media site, he said Greenland is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building.
“NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” he said.
“Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent – Not even close! They know that, and so do I,” he added.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
The development comes as the US Vice President DJ Vance is scheduled to meet Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt in Washington on Wednesday to discuss Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States.
US President Donald Trump has been talking up the idea of buying or annexing the Arctic territory for years, and further stoked tensions on Sunday by saying that the United States would take the territory “one way or the other.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a news conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday that if Greenland were forced to choose between the United States and Denmark at this moment, it would stand with Denmark, NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the European Union.
Ahead of the meeting, France’s foreign minister denounced what he described as U.S. “blackmail” over Greenland in the latest sign of irritation among America’s allies.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has backed Greenland, saying the territory “belongs to its people” and insisting she was in contact with Denmark over the issue.
“Greenland belongs to its people, so it’s up to Denmark and Greenland, and only to them, to decide on matters that are concerning Denmark and Greenland. That’s point number one, that’s very important,” she said.
