Trump says US ‘needs’ Greenland for national security reasons

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted on Monday that the United States would not take control of Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after US President Donald Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy for the semi-autonomous territory.

Trump’s announcement of the appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy has sparked a new flare-up of tensions over Washington’s interest in the vast territory of NATO ally Denmark.

In an announcement Monday about new warships, Trump said the United States “needs” Greenland for national security and that Landry wanted to be part of that goal.

“We have to have him and he wanted to lead the charge,” » Trump said.

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders”

The Danish foreign minister told Danish media that he would summon the US ambassador to his ministry in response.

“We have said it before. Now we say it again. National borders and state sovereignty are anchored in international law,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement. “These are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with a debate on international security.”

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the United States will not take over Greenland,” they added in the emailed statement from Frederiksen’s office. “We expect respect for our common territorial integrity.”

Trump has called repeatedly during his presidential transition and the first months of his second term for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, and has not ruled out the use of military force to take control of the strategically located, mineral-rich Arctic island.

In March, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote US military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the region.

The issue gradually faded from the news, but in August Danish officials summoned the top U.S. diplomat to Copenhagen following reports that at least three people with ties to Trump had conducted covert influence operations in Greenland.

On Sunday, Trump announced Landry’s nomination, saying on social media that “Jeff understands how critical Greenland is to our national security and will strongly advance our country’s interests for the safety, security and survival of our allies, and of course the world.”

Landry wrote in a social media post that “it is an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland part of the United States.”

The Trump administration offered no warning ahead of the announcement, according to a Danish government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

‘It doesn’t change anything,’ says Greenland’s prime minister

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Monday that Trump decided to create the special envoy role because the administration views Greenland as “a strategically important place in the Arctic to maintain peace through force.”

Greenland’s prime minister wrote in a statement that Greenland woke up again to a new announcement from the US president and that “this may seem important. But it changes nothing for us here at home.”

Earlier this month, Denmark’s defense intelligence service said in an annual report that the United States was using its economic power to “assert its will” and threaten the use of military force against friends and foes.

Denmark is a member of the European Union as well as NATO.

EU Executive Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media that Arctic security is a “key priority” for the bloc and one it seeks to work on with its allies and partners. She also declared that “territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law.”

“We stand in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland,” she wrote.