Denmark ready to defend 'every inch of NATO', including Danish kingdom, as PM reiterates that Greenland is not for sale
Donald Trump said the issue of control over Greenland had harmed US ties with NATO
Denmark is ready to defend every inch of NATO, including the kingdom of Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, a day after President Donald Trump reiterated that Greenland should be controlled by the US.
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The President renewed his claims that the US should control Greenland instead of Denmark on Tuesday when he spoke to Turkish President Erdogan ahead of the NATO summit.
Trump's assertions about annexing Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, have long strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen — both founding NATO members — and more broadly US ties with Europe.
The issue has since moved to a diplomatic track.
Read more: Donald Trump says US could pull troops from Europe as he slams Nato over Greenland dispute
"We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory ... Of course we will defend the kingdom of Denmark," Frederiksen said, reiterating that Greenland was not for sale.
"One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other," she said.
In January, the White House said Trump was considering how to acquire Greenland, including a potential use of the US military, setting off alarm bells among NATO allies in Europe, although talks have since been moved to a diplomatic track.
Trump has described Greenland, an island of 57,000 people, as strategically vital for countering Russia and China in the Arctic.
The US currently has one active military base there, down from around 17 facilities in 1945.
Trump said the issue of control over Greenland had harmed US ties with NATO.
He told reporters at his meeting with President Erdogan: "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.
"They wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia.
“And when they wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia, and we don’t have to spend any money, we could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe, because, as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago, lot different, much different, much different, and they better be careful with immigration and energy.
“If they’re not careful with those two things, you’re not going to have a Europe anymore.”