Donald Trump has doubled down on his ambition to take control of Greenland, insisting the mineral-rich Arctic island is vital to US and European security despite sharp warnings from allies that such a move could fracture NATO.
Speaking after a US raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the US president told The Atlantic “we need it for defence,” later reinforcing the point in an interview with NBC News, where he said: “We need Greenland for national security, and that includes Europe… I think that Greenland is very important for the national security of the United States, Europe, and other parts of the free world.”
Mr Trump said he had “no timeline” for action but stressed he was “very serious,” even as Denmark and the US remain NATO allies.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected the claim, warning that a US invasion would mean “everything stops… including NATO,” and adding: “It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the US needing to take over Greenland… The US has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom.”
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer backed Copenhagen, saying: “I stand with her. She’s right about the future of Greenland,” while former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace cautioned that annexation “would be a very, very severe crisis for NATO,” potentially emboldening Russia if “legality doesn’t matter” to the alliance’s largest backer.