US President Donald Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday that US control of Greenland was necessary to improve international security, thus strengthening efforts to annex the strategically important Arctic island, reports Reuters.
“You know, Mark, we need it not only for security, but for international security –international – we have a lot of our favourite players cruising around the coast, and we have to be careful,” Trump told Rutte as they sat next to each other in the Oval Office of the White House for the talks. “We’ll talk to you.”
TRUMP WAS ASKED DIRECTLY ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF ANNEXATION AND HE REPLIED: “I THINK IT WILL HAPPEN.”
Since taking office on the 20th of January, Trump has made the annexation of Greenland one of the most important topics of the talks. His comments on Thursday suggested that he might want NATO to get involved in his attempt to take over the island, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Those comments drew a swift rebuff from Greenland’s Prime Minister and leader of the island’s Demokraatit party, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who won Greenland’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday.
Opinion polls show that the majority of Greenlanders are against joining the US, although most support eventual independence from Denmark.
Even before the start of his second presidential term, Trump expressed hope that Greenland would be part of the US, although NATO ally Denmark says it is not for sale.
Greenland’s strategic location and abundant mineral resources could be advantageous for the US. The island is on the shortest route from Europe to North America, which is vital for the US ballistic missile warning system.
Rutte told Trump that the future of Greenland would be left to others and that “I do not want to involve NATO” in the debate. He said that the issue should be dealt with by countries in the “High North”, as China and Russia use the waterways in the region.
Trump insisted that Denmark refuses to discuss the subject and that he would send more US troops to reinforce American bases in Greenland.
“We have dealt with Denmark, we have dealt with Greenland, and we need to do that. We really need it for national security. I think that is why NATO will probably have to be involved to some extent, because we really need Greenland for national security. It is very important,” said Trump.
Trump also sought to undermine Denmark’s right to the island.
“You know, Denmark is very far away and really has nothing to do [with the island]. What happened, 200 years ago a boat landed there or something? And they say they have a right to it. I don’t know if that is true. I don’t think it is,” he said.