Trump renews threats to annex Greenland
COPENHAGEN – President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday (4) on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark’s prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory.
Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the Arctic. Over the weekend, the Danish prime minister called on Washington to stop “threatening its historical ally.”
While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months… let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
“I have to say this very clearly to the United States: it is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement. She also noted that Denmark, “and thus Greenland,” was a NATO member protected by the agreement’s security guarantees.
“That’s enough now,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said Monday (5) morning. “No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law,” the head of Greenland’s government wrote on Facebook late Sunday.
Trump rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York. Trump has said the United States will now “run” Venezuela indefinitely and tap its huge oil reserves.
Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide. “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know,” Trump was quoted as saying. He added, “But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.”
Hours earlier, Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colours of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’. Greenland’s prime minister called Miller’s post “disrespectful.”
Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term. She later worked as communications director for then-Vice President Mike Pence and also acted as his press secretary. Her husband, Stephen Miller, is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump’s policies, guiding the president on his hard-line immigration policies and domestic agenda.
Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Møller Sørensen, offered a pointed “friendly reminder” in response to Katie Miller’s post that his country has “significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts” and worked together with Washington on that. “We are close allies and should continue to work together as such,” Sørensenwrote.
-AFP
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