WASHINGTON, Jan. 14– U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning that anything less than Greenland becoming a part of the United States “is unacceptable.”
Hours later, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, are expected to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House to discuss the issue.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building,” Trump said on his Truth Social. “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it,” he claimed.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable.
” One day earlier, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen held a joint press conference in Copenhagen to show their united front against Trump’s repeated threats to acquire the largest island in the world “one way or the other.”
Frederiksen said her country is facing “completely unacceptable pressure” from its closest ally. “But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us.”
Nielsen said that if Greenland must choose between the United States and Denmark, “we choose Denmark.” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Tuesday that the Danish government is committed to establishing “a more permanent and larger military presence” for Denmark and its NATO allies in and around Greenland.
Danish broadcaster DR reported on Wednesday that Denmark is deploying military equipment and advance troops to the island.
Since his first term, Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to acquire Greenland.
Both Greenland and Denmark have made clear that the island is not for sale.
The White House said last week that Trump will not rule out the use of force.
Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, while Copenhagen retains authority over defense and foreign policy.
The United States maintains a military base on the island. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
