Greenland and allies reject threats to island, as Trump reiterates US ‘need’ for it

Greenland is seeking to strengthen ties with the United States, and its citizens should not fear an imminent American takeover, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Monday, following renewed interest in the Arctic island by US President Donald Trump.

European powers rallied behind Greenland on Monday, after the US military operation in which Venezuela’s leader was seized rekindled concerns that the island, an autonomous Danish territory, might face a similar scenario.

“We are not in the situation where we are thinking that a takeover of the country might happen overnight,” Nielsen said at a press conference in the capital Nuuk, speaking via a translator.

“You cannot compare Greenland to Venezuela. We are a democratic country,” he said.

Trump, who said the US was taking temporary control of oil-producing Venezuela, has said repeatedly he wants to take over Greenland and told The Atlantic magazine on Sunday: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”

In a Facebook post late on Sunday, Nielsen said: “Enough is enough… No more fantasies about annexation.”

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also addressed Trump’s comments: “I believe the US president should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland,” she told broadcaster TV2.

“If the United States attacks another NATO country, everything stops,” Frederiksen argued. “That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.”

“We will not accept a situation where we and Greenland are threatened in this way,” she added.

Speaking on Danish public television, Frederiksen said: “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.”

Greenland, the world’s largest island with a population of 57,000 people, is not an independent member of NATO but is covered by Denmark’s membership of the Western military alliance, of which the US is also a member.

European allies backed Denmark and Greenland on the matter, emphasizing that the island’s future lies in the hands of its people.

“Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul suggested NATO could discuss strengthening Greenland’s protection, while the European Union reiterated its commitment to the principle of national sovereignty.

Trump on Monday, asked about Greenland by reporters on Air Force One, responded: “I don’t want to talk about Greenland. Let’s talk about Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine — we’ll worry about Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”

But he added: “It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.”

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Then he mocked Denmark’s efforts at boosting Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes have added “one more dog sled” to the Arctic territory’s arsenal.

Greenland’s strategic location between Europe and North America makes it a critical site for the US ballistic missile defense system. The island’s significant mineral resources also align with Washington’s ambition to reduce dependence on Chinese exports.

Ulrik Pram Gad, a global security expert from the Danish Institute for International Studies, wrote in a report last year that “there are indeed Russian and Chinese ships in the Arctic, but these vessels are too far away to see from Greenland with or without binoculars.”

Trump appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland last month. Landry has publicly expressed support for incorporating Greenland into the United States.

Trump called repeatedly during his presidential transition and the early months of his second term for US jurisdiction over Greenland, and has not ruled out military force to take control of the island.

Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled by a social media post following the Venezuela raid by a former Trump administration official turned podcaster, Katie Miller. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the Stars and Stripes accompanied by the caption: “SOON.”

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark’s chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump’s influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.