Denmark's prime minister on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to "stop the threats" of the United States annexing Greenland, warning that Washington has no right to absorb the Arctic territory just a day after US forces conducted land strikes in Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Danish And Greenland Leaders Issue Stern Rebuke
In a statement posted late Sunday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, "I have to say this very directly to the United States. It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the United States needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex one of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom."
Frederiksen stressed that Denmark and Greenland, as part of the Danish Kingdom, belong to NATO and are covered by the alliance's collective defense guarantee. "I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale," she said.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen issued his own rebuke, as per an ABC report, saying, "Our country is not an object of superpower rhetoric. We are a people. A country. A democracy. This has to be respected."
Their comments followed an interview published Sunday in The Atlantic in which Trump defended his repeated calls for US control over Greenland. "We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense," he said, arguing the island is vital to US security in the Arctic amid Russian and Chinese activity.
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Social Media Post Intensifies Diplomatic Tensions
Tensions escalated further after Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posted on X a map of Greenland overlaid with an American flag, captioning it, "SOON."
Nielsen, without naming her, condemned "disrespectful posts on social media" and added, "We are open to conversations. But it has to be through the right channels and with respect to international law."
Special Envoy Appointment Fuels Wider Concerns
According to a Reuters report, last month, Trump named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland, a move that drew criticism from both leaders. In a joint statement, then, they said, "You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security," adding, "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland."
Greenland has been part of the Danish Kingdom since the 18th century and gained home rule in 1979 and expanded self-government in 2009.
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