United States President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to take over and control Greenland and stirred tensions at the NATO summit currently underway in Ankara, Turkey.
Greenland is an autonomous Arctic territory that currently falls under the Kingdom of Denmark.
Trump's fresh remarks have brought back a point of contention in US-Europe relations, which are already at a low point, in focus.
“Should be controlled by US, not Denmark”
During a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, Trump told reporters about his continued demand to take over the Artic territory. "That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark," he said in reference to Greenland.
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Trump's comments were followed by a direct recognition of the strain this issue has posed on his country's ties with NATO.
{{/usCountry}}Trump's comments were followed by a direct recognition of the strain this issue has posed on his country's ties with NATO.
{{/usCountry}}"That's what hurt my relationship with NATO, because Greenland doesn't help Denmark. Denmark doesn't spend money to really help Greenland, but it's an important part for the United States, and it's surrounded by China ships and Russian ships, and that's not going to happen," he said.
“They wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded to President Trump's claims a few hours later during an interaction at the summit, laying bare her expectations of receiving support from allies on this issue and dismissed any plans of discussing the matter at the summit.
"It is a well-known position of the United States that it wants to own and take over Greenland. I hope that it is equally well-known everywhere that this is not going to happen," Frederiksen said.
Greenland's Foreign Minister Mute Egede reaffirmed the need to allow the Arctic territory's people to dictate the course of their own future in a social media post. “That's how it has always been. And that's how it always will be,” he asserted while stressing on Greenland's desire for continued cooperation with its close allies.
Both Washington DC and Copenhagen were founding members of the NATO.
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What makes Greenland important?
The core demand to acquire Greenland comes from interests in rare earth elements (REEs) and new shipping routes as thawing of ice due to global warming makes the Artic territory valuable to multiple stakeholders. For the US, further research and control over Greenland provides the opportunity to challenge China's current dominance in the critical minerals industry.
Repeated takeover threats by the US President heightened tensions between the two countries, leading Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen to openly state the territory's desire to stay with Denmark instead of being integrated with the US if circumstances pushed for such a choice to be made.
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As per the latest update on this contentious issue, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in June that monthly discussions with Denmark as well as Greenland were still on.