President Donald Trump made a social media post on Sunday night about the need to protect Greenland from a Russian threat.
He claimed that Denmark has been warned about such a threat for years but has not been able to successfully address the situation. In his post, the president claimed that, for years, Denmark has been “unable to do anything about it” before assuring that “it will be done.”
“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland,’” Trump said in his post on Truth Social. “Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!”
Trump’s comments come amid a tenuous situation between the United States, Denmark, and Greenland, as the president has repeatedly stated his desire to acquire the Arctic island from Denmark for reasons pertaining to national security and other U.S. interests. Trump has offered to purchase Greenland from Denmark and has suggested the idea of using military force. The situation has been particularly stressful for NATO members, with both Denmark and the U.S. being part of the alliance.
Denmark has repeatedly said Greenland is not for sale and has no interest in selling the massive land to the U.S. Last week, Danish officials traveled to the U.S. to discuss a possible solution to the tenuous situation that would not include selling Greenland or military conflict. Danish diplomats announced they were unable to reach a resolution but said they would continue the conversation.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s Foreign Affairs Minister, did, however, acknowledge a new era of security concerns in the Arctic. However, he denied assertions that China was an imminent threat to Greenland.
“There’s absolutely no Chinese footprint in Greenland,” Rasmussen said in an interview on Fox News last week.
“We definitely share the concern that [the] Arctic is not any longer a low-tension region,” he added. “And, of course, we have to be aware of that. And that’s why we have invested almost $15 billion U.S. dollars last year in capabilities in Greenland.”
After Danish and U.S. officials met last week, Rasmussen admitted there was a “new security situation in the Arctic and the high north.”
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“Of course, we share, to some extent, his concerns,” Rasmussen said. “The big difference is whether that must lead to a situation where the U.S. must acquire Greenland, and that is absolutely not necessary.”
On Saturday, Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he would impose a 10% tariff on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
