China tells Trump to keep hands off Venezuela's oil and release Maduro
China has warned Donald Trump to keep his hands off Venezuela’s oil reserves and to release Nicolás Maduro.
Listen to this article
Beijing has said that it expects its current oil arrangement with Venezuela to continue despite Trump’s assertion that the US will ‘take control’ of the South American country’s oil supply.
A foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said on Monday it expected the current arrangements to continue and also urged the United States to release President Maduro.
Beijing is gravely concerned over the capture of Maduro and his wife and is closely following the security situation, spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing, and said the situation violated international law.
In a separate development, the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have urged Trump to stop threatening to take over Greenland.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement that it makes "absolutely no sense" to talk about the US "needing" to takeover Greenland.
"The US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom," she said.
"I would therefore strongly urge the US 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."
Ms Frederiksen's comments come after President Trump reiterated his desire for the US to takeover the Danish territory, citing its strategic importance for defence.
Trump told The Atlantic magazine on Sunday: “We do need Greenland, absolutely."
He said it was up to others to decide what US-military action in Venezuela means for Greenland, adding: "But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.”
On Saturday the US launched a series of strikes in Venezuela as part of action to capture President Nicolas Maduro and take him, and his wife, to New York to face weapons and drugs charges.
Maduro is currently in a New York jail and will appear in court on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference following the military action in Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the world should take notice.
He said “When [Trump] tells you that he’s going to do something, when he tells you he’s going to address a problem, he means it."
A social media post by Katie Miller, the wife of one of Trump's closest allies, has also caused upset.
She posted a map of Greenland filled in with the US flag, accompanied by the word “soon”.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen described the map as “disrespectful”.
Nielsen said the US rhetoric was “entirely unacceptable” and added: “Enough is enough. No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation.”
The Arctic island's strategic position between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the US ballistic-missile defence system, while its mineral wealth is attractive as the US hopes to reduce its reliance on Chinese exports.
Greenland, a former Danish colony, has the right to declare independence under a 2009 agreement but depends heavily on Danish subsidies.
Denmark has sought to repair strained ties with Greenland over the past year, while also trying to ease tensions with the Trump administration by investing in Arctic defence.