Greenland and Denmark presented a united front as leaders pushed back against President Donald Trump’s renewed assertions that the United States will take control of the Arctic island.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Greenland’s prime minister said Tuesday that the island would choose Denmark over the United States if forced to decide, as Greenlandic and Danish leaders publicly rejected President Donald Trump’s repeated statements that Washington will take control of the strategically located Arctic territory.
“If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said during a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, according to remarks reported by CNBC.
“We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the EU. The time has come to stand together,” Nielsen said, one day before U.S., Danish, and Greenlandic officials are scheduled to meet at the White House.
Frederiksen said U.S. conduct in recent weeks has been “unacceptable,” warning that pressure on Denmark and Greenland is likely to intensify rather than ease.
“It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime,” Frederiksen said. “But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us.”
The comments came as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to meet Wednesday with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland at the White House. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the meeting was requested after Trump escalated his rhetoric about acquiring Greenland, which is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen that Vance asked to participate and will host the meeting at the White House, with Rubio also attending. Greenland’s foreign affairs portfolio is represented by Vivian Motzfeldt, the island’s minister responsible for international relations.
Trump has repeatedly said the United States will take Greenland “one way or the other,” arguing that control of the mineral-rich island is vital to U.S. national security because of growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Washington must act to prevent rivals from gaining influence there.
“If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will, and I’m not letting that happen,” Trump said. He added that while he would prefer to negotiate, “one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
Frederiksen has warned that any attempt by the United States to seize Greenland by force would shatter decades of transatlantic security cooperation. Trump dismissed that concern, saying such consequences would not deter him.
“If it affects NATO, it affects NATO,” Trump said. “But you know, they need us much more than we need them.”
The dispute has heightened diplomatic tensions within the NATO alliance, as Greenland and Denmark continue to emphasize sovereignty and collective security while U.S. officials press the strategic importance of the Arctic territory.
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