Trump's Greenland ambitions reignite arctic tensions
"The United States won’t get that," wrote Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the head of the government of this autonomous territory dependent on Denmark, on Facebook on Sunday. This was in response to declarations by U.S. President Donald Trump, who once again announced his desire to take control of this part of the Arctic.
"President Trump says that the United States is getting Greenland. Let me be clear: the United States won’t get that. We do not belong to anyone else. We determine our own future," Nielsen stated in a Facebook post.
In a Sunday interview with NBC, Trump admitted that he had seriously discussed the possibility of annexing Greenland. "We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%," he said.
On Friday, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, visited Greenland uninvited. He visited the American Space Forces base in Pituffik. He criticized the Danish authorities for allegedly neglecting defence investments on the island and proposed offering it a security umbrella instead of Denmark.
Earlier, a delegation of U.S. officials led by Vance's wife, Usha, was scheduled to visit Greenland's capital, Nuuk, and observe a dog sled race in Sisimiut. However, these plans were canceled after protests from the Greenland government and the local population.
Trump claims that the United States needs Greenland for international security. During his first term as head of state (2017-21), he showed considerable interest in taking control of this island.
