Washington: As President Donald Trump resumes efforts to bring strategically important Arctic territories into U.S. control, the United States is urging NATO to consider its security interests in Greenland.
“Mark, Mark, we need to be internationally safe, not just internationally safe-Internationally safe-Internationally safe-We have a lot of our favorite players cruising the coast and we have to be careful,” Trump told Rutt on Thursday. “We will talk to you.”
“I think that’s going to happen,” Trump said directly when asked about the prospects for annexation.
Since taking office on January 20, Trump’s annexation of Greenland is a major conversation point. His comments suggest that he may want NATO to participate in an attempt to take over the island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Comments quickly rejected Greenland’s current Prime Minister.
“The US president has announced the idea of annexing us again,” Mute Egede said in a Facebook post. “Enough.”
NATO and Denmark’s embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Polls show that most Greenlanders oppose joining the United States, although most end up favoring Denmark’s independence.
Greenland’s pro-business opposition Demokraatit hopes to slowly break away from Denmark’s independence and win Tuesday’s parliamentary elections. Trump said Thursday that the election is good for the United States.
Even before serving in the second term as president, Trump said he hopes to make Greenland a part of the United States even if NATO ally Denmark insists it is not for sale.
Greenland’s strategic location and abundant mineral resources can benefit the United States. It follows the shortest route from Europe to North America and is crucial to the U.S. ballistic missile warning system.
Trump managed to annoy Canadians, that the country became the 51st state in the United States. He also asked the United States to have more impact on the Panama Canal.
Rut told Trump that he would leave Greenland’s future issues to others, “I don’t want to drag NATO into the debate.” He said this should be a topic of the “high-north” country, as Chinese and Russians are using waterways in the region.
Trump insisted that Denmark refused to discuss the topic and that he might send more U.S. troops to strengthen U.S. bases in Greenland.
“We’ve been dealing with Denmark, we’ve been dealing with Greenland, and we have to do that. We really need it to achieve national security. I think that’s why NATO might have to be involved in some way because we really need Greenland to get national security. It’s very important,” Trump said.
Trump also tried to undermine Denmark’s claims on the island.
He said: “You know, Denmark is very far away and there is actually nothing to do. What happened, and a boat landed there 200 years ago? They said they have the right. I don’t know if it’s true. I don’t think it’s right.”
