The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has once again threatened to take control of Greenland, the semi-autonomous Arctic island under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, “by hook or by crook.” In statements this Friday at the White House, he questioned whether Copenhagen has the right to the territory “just because one of its ships docked there 500 years ago.” According to him, if Washington does not move in one way or another to annex the geostrategic territory, Russia and China “will end up controlling it.”
Since the US military operation last Saturday in Caracas against Nicolás Maduro, statements from Trump or some member of his team have come almost daily, and always with the warning that the US president does consider it necessary.
In this Friday’s meeting with oil businessmen to discuss the reconstruction of the energy sector in Venezuela after the US intervention, Trump has been especially explicit about his determination to use force. And about his skepticism that Denmark has any basis to exercise sovereignty over the territory of 56,000 inhabitants.
“I would like to reach an agreement, you know, the good way” and buy the island from Copenhagen. “But if we don’t do it the good way, we will do it the bad way,” he insisted. “I’m a fan of Denmark, they’ve been very kind to me. I’m a big fan. But the fact that a ship of theirs landed there 500 years ago doesn’t mean they own the land” (Danish colonization dates back 300 years).
Since before his inauguration a year ago, Trump had expressed his desire for the United States to take over the Arctic island. Although he had stopped alluding to it in recent months, he has insisted again since what he describes as a “brilliant” military operation in Caracas. His domestic policy advisor and deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, has argued that the United States must control Greenland because “we are a superpower.” His vice president, JD Vance, has urged Europeans to “listen to what the president says” and reinforce the security of the strategic territory, which the Trump Administration considers essential to guarantee American national security, especially with regard to anti-missile defense.
But the United States already has a military base on the island, the Pituffik space base, in the north of the territory. It can also build and operate other bases in Greenland, deploy personnel and maintain a wide range of operations if it wishes, thanks to an agreement signed with Copenhagen in 1951. Since Trump began launching his claims, Denmark, a NATO member, has always been willing to cooperate with the Alliance’s main partner to reinforce Greenlandic security.
According to Trump, these types of agreements are not enough. “Something you rent is not defended in the same way as something that is yours,” he stated. “Countries have to be owners. Ownership is defended, not a lease, and we have to defend Greenland.” And he insisted: “If we don’t do it, China or Russia will do it, and that’s not going to happen. We’re not going to allow it.”
The matter has generated enormous concern among European capitals. The continent’s main countries have issued a statement of support for Denmark this week. The prime minister of the Nordic country has warned that a military action by the United States against her country, an ally within NATO, .
In his statements this Friday, Trump seemed to want to calm that fear, and assured: “I am totally in favor of NATO. I saved NATO. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have NATO right now.” Although he insisted again: “But we are not going to allow Russia or China to occupy Greenland, and that is what will happen if we do not act.”
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spoke this Friday about the matter with the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, and plans to meet next week in Washington with European representatives to address the issue. On Monday he will meet with the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, who will visit Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, on Sunday. On Wednesday, the head of US diplomacy will receive the Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, at the State Department.
