US President Donald Trump has brought Greenland back into the spotlight, reviving his demand that the United States should control the Arctic island and warning that the US could even withdraw its troops from Europe if allies continue to oppose the idea.
Speaking after arriving in Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit on Tuesday, Trump said Greenland should not remain under Denmark and linked the issue to America’s military commitment to Europe.
Trump links Greenland dispute to US military support
During a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said Europe’s refusal to support his Greenland proposal had damaged his relationship with NATO.
“Because Greenland doesn’t help Denmark. Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States,” Trump told reporters. He repeated his claim that Greenland faces growing security threats from Russia and China.
“And it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships, and that’s not going to happen, the ships, is, it’s not going to happen,” he said, repeating claims about foreign military threats against the self-governing island that experts on Greenland have denied.
Trump then made it clear that he believes the island should belong to the United States.
“Greenland ‘should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,’” he said. “And when they wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia — we don’t have to spend any money.”
He also warned that Washington could rethink its military presence in Europe.
“We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe,” he said. “Because as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago.”
Trump also criticised European policies on immigration and energy
“And they better be careful,” he said, speaking broadly about Europe, “with immigration and energy. If they’re not careful with those two things, you’re not going to have a Europe anymore.” He ended the public portion of the meeting shortly after making those remarks.
Greenland issue returns after months of negotiations
Trump’s latest comments have brought back an issue that had eased in recent months. Earlier this year, the 32-member NATO alliance faced a major diplomatic challenge after Trump insisted that the US needed to take control of Greenland for national security reasons. Greenland is a self-governing territory that is part of Denmark, a NATO member.
Greenland’s leaders repeatedly said the island was not for sale, while Trump at the time refused to rule out the use of military force to annex it.
However, in late January, Trump announced that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had agreed on a “framework of a future deal” on Greenland, indicating a transition away from confrontation.
Since then, representatives from the US, Denmark and Greenland have been meeting as part of a working group to discuss the future relationship and possible areas of cooperation.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said last month that he expects the working group to reach a solution by the end of the year.
Finland urges calm approach
Trump’s latest remarks drew a measured response from Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Asked about the issue by CNBC, Stubb said, “Be more Arctic, be more cool. If it is about Arctic security, we have seven countries that are Arctic nations in the alliance.”
He added: “Finland has trained one million soldiers in Arctic conditions; we basically live in Arctic conditions. Let’s keep that in mind. Let’s, you know, continue the process that the Danes, the Americans and the Greenlanders have.”