Trump renews Greenland talks, threatens to ‘remove’ US troops from Europe – National
The United States, not Denmark, should control Greenland, US President Donald Trump said on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Ankara, Turkey, threatening to “remove” US troops from Europe.
“Greenland is not helping Denmark. Denmark is not really spending money to help Greenland, but it is an important part of the United States,” Trump said during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The island was “surrounded by Chinese ships and Russian ships,” Trump said, adding that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark.”
“We can remove all our troops from Europe,” he added.
Trump’s assertion that the US should acquire or control Greenland, an independent Danish territory, has long strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen – both founding members of NATO – and, more broadly, US relations with Europe. The matter has gone through the diplomatic process.
The standoff over Greenland escalated in December, when Trump said the US “must have” Greenland for “national security.”
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Tensions rose sharply in January during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, when NATO allies, including Canada, expressed solidarity with Greenland and Denmark.
When asked by a reporter how far he would go to find Greenland, Trump said, “He will.”
However, when he delivered his speech at the world economic conference, he rejected the use of force.
Hours later, and speaking in Ankara, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said he expects his allies to respect Denmark’s sovereignty and accept that Greenland is not for sale.
“It is a well-known position of the United States that it wants to own and occupy Greenland. I hope it is equally known everywhere that this will not happen,” said Frederiksen.
He added that there are no plans to discuss issues affecting the High North, the Arctic or Greenland while in Akara.
Greenland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mute Egede, wrote on Facebook that the future of Greenland must be decided by its people.
“It’s always been that way.” And it will be,” he said, adding that Greenland should continue to work closely with its partners.
Trump said that the issue of control over Greenland is damaging US-NATO relations.
“That is what damaged my relationship with NATO,” he said.
“They (Denmark) wouldn’t go along with it, even with all the money we spend helping them with Russia.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June that negotiations with Denmark and Greenland continue every month.
-From files from The Canadian Press
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