Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged the United States to cease its threats against Greenland, arguing that it had no right to annex the island.
Frederiksen’s comments come after more remarks from President Donald Trump and his allies talking about taking over the island, feeling emboldened by the daring seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from Caracas.
“It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland,” Frederiksen said. “The US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom.”
She said she was addressing the U.S. “very directly,” and that Greenland was covered by NATO’s security guarantee. She stressed that Denmark had increased investment into its Arctic security infrastructure, and already gave the U.S. extensive access to the island.
“I would therefore strongly urge the United States to 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,” Frederiksen said.
Her comments came after Trump floated the possibility of a military operation to take Greenland, in the same breath that he was discussing Saturday’s Operation Absolute Resolve.
In an interview with the Atlantic, Trump was asked about additional foreign interventions outside of Venezuela, to which he immediately shifted to Greenland.
“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he said, adding that it was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”
Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s most influential allies, posted about acquiring Greenland just hours after the operation to capture Maduro, posting a map on X of Greenland in the colors of the American flag, captioning it with the word “SOON.”
While Trump’s attention to Greenland has waxed and waned, Greenland and Denmark have remained terrified about possible military action.
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Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the chairman of the government of Greenland, denounced U.S. rhetoric around Greenland in his New Year’s speech.
“The lack of respect and condescension shown towards our country has affected us all,” he said.
