US ‘has
no right’ to take over Greenland, Danish PM says after renewed Trump threats
Mette
Frederiksen responds to president amid febrile atmosphere after US actions in
Venezuela
Venezuela crisis – latest updates
Deborah
Cole
Sun 4 Jan
2026 22.03 GMT
Denmark’s
prime minister has urged Donald Trump to stop threatening to take over
Greenland after the president said the US “absolutely” needs the territory.
Mette
Frederiksen said on Sunday: “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.”
The US
bombardment of Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, has
renewed fears of an American takeover of Greenland, as members of Trump’s Maga
movement gleefully set their sights on the Danish territory after the attack in
South America.
Speaking
aboard Air Force One on Sunday hours after Frederiksen’s remarks, Trump doubled
down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States.
“We need
Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to
be able to do it,” Trump told reporters said when asked about the issue.
Hours
after the US military operation in Venezuela, the rightwing podcaster Katie
Miller – the wife of Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s powerful deputy chief of
staff for policy – posted on X a map of Greenland draped in the stars and
stripes with the caption: “SOON.”
Miller’s
threat to annex the mineral-rich territory, which is part of the Nato alliance,
drew outrage from Denmark and Greenland.
Greenland’s
prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, called the post “disrespectful”.
“Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and
international law – not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our
rights,” he wrote on X.
But he
also said: “There is neither reason for panic nor for concern. Our country is
not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.”
Copenhagen’s
ambassador to the US, Jesper Møller Sørensen, reposted Miller’s provocation
with a “friendly reminder” of the longstanding defence ties between the two
countries.
“We are
close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also
Greenland’s and Denmark’s security,” he said. “The Kingdom of Denmark and the
United States work together to ensure security in the Arctic.”
He said
Denmark had increased defence spending in 2025, committing $13.7bn (£10.2bn)
“that can be used in the Arctic and North Atlantic. Because we take our joint
security seriously.”
He added:
“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom
of Denmark.”
Trump
recently named Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana, as a special envoy to
Greenland. Landry, a former state attorney general, thanked Trump for his
appointment in December, saying it was “an honour to serve you in this
volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US”.
On
Saturday, Landry welcomed Trump’s toppling of Maduro by force. “Having served
as a sheriff’s deputy and AG, I have seen the devastating effects of illegal
drugs on American families. With over 100k opioid-related deaths annually, I am
grateful to see a President finally take real action in the war on drugs,” he
posted on X.
“Thank
you @realDonaldTrump for holding individuals like Maduro accountable.”
Since
taking office a year ago, Trump has rattled European allies with his stated
designs on Greenland, which is seen as strategically important for defence and
as a future source of mineral wealth. It is home to the US’s most northerly
military base, at Pituffik, which Trump’s vice-president, JD Vance, visited in
March.
The US
president has refused to rule out military action to gain control of the
territory at a time when the US, China and Russia are jockeying for power in
the Arctic, a prospect that has triggered widespread condemnation and disquiet
on the island itself.
“I don’t
rule it out. I don’t say I’m going to do it but I don’t rule out anything. No,
not there. We need Greenland very badly,” Trump told the US broadcaster NBC in
May when asked about a potential takeover by force.
“Greenland
is a very small amount of people, which we’ll take care of, and we’ll cherish
them, and all of that. But we need that for international security.”
In
response to a constant drumbeat of threats against the territory, the Danish
defence intelligence service last month labelled the US a security risk in a
dramatic change in transatlantic relations.
The prime
ministers of Denmark and Greenland, Mette Frederiksen and Nielsen, said at the
time: “We have said it very clearly before. Now we say it again. National
borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law … You
cannot annex other countries.”
The vast
majority of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants want to become independent from
Denmark but have no wish to become part of the US, according to a poll in
January. The territory has had the right to declare independence since 2009.
Jennifer
Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a thinktank
that advocates restraint in US foreign policy, said she had long dismissed
Trump’s sabre-rattling toward Greenland.
“Now I’m
not so sure,” she said. “It wouldn’t be that hard for the US to put a couple
hundred or a couple thousand troops inside of Greenland, and it’s not clear to
me who could do anything about it.”
Agence
France-Presse contributed to this report.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário