Denmark certifies U.S. security risk over Greenland conflict
Tensions between Denmark and the United States are rising amid President Trump’s recent push to acquire Greenland.
Denmark’s prime minister called on the White House to “cease the threat” of taking over Greenland after President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to do so in an interview with The Atlantic over the weekend.
“It makes no sense at all to say that the United States needs to occupy Greenland. The United States has no right to annex any of the three countries of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Mette Frederiksen said on January 4.
A day after the United States detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump gave an interview to the magazine in which he said the United States would temporarily “run” the Latin American country. The move has renewed concerns in Copenhagen that the same could happen to Greenland, a Danish territory with limited autonomy.
“We absolutely need Greenland. We need it for our defense,” President Trump said in an interview.
Frederiksen’s comments followed a tweet from Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. She posted a map of Greenland in the colors of the American flag with the word “SOON.”
Greenland’s leader also issued a statement on January 4th.
“For the president of the United States to say ‘we need Greenland’ and link us to Venezuela and military intervention is not only wrong, it is disrespectful,” said Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Denmark, like the United States, is a member of NATO, which means that both countries are subject to the security of the alliance. Denmark also has a separate defense agreement with the United States that allows the Pentagon access to Greenland. President Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States should annex Greenland because of its strategic location and mineral wealth. His comments embarrassed Danish and Greenlandic officials.
