‘National security priority’: Trump considering using military to seize Greenland? Here’s what White House said
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘National security priority’: Trump considering using military to seize Greenland? Here’s what White House said")
US President Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)
US President Donald Trump is weighing options to “acquire” Greenland from Denmark, including possible military force, calling it a national security priority to counter Russia and China. Denmark warned such action could shatter NATO.
US President Donald Trump is considering several options, including using the military, to acquire Greenland from Denmark, White House said on Tuesday (Jan 5). This comes amid recent tensions over the Arctic territory. Meanwhile, Denmark has warned that any US military action in Greenland could destroy the NATO alliance. After the US operation, during which the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was captured and Caracas was bombed, Trump seems to be shifting his attention to Greenland once again, reigniting the long controversy over the island’s sovereignty.
Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to AFP that acquiring Greenland was a national security priority to deter US adversaries like China and Russia.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” Leavitt said.
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal,” she added.
Denmark has warned that any military move to seize Greenland would mean “everything would stop”, including NATO. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member state that any attack on its member states would be treated as an attack on all. This would mean any US military action against Greenland would result in the collapse of NATO.
Denmark and Greenland officials have urged a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said in a statement that they sought a meeting with Trump’s official, but “it has so far not been possible.” While Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated that a meeting with Rubio should “clear up certain misunderstandings.”
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Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has repeatedly stressed that the island nation was not for sale, adding that only its 57,000 people should decide its fate.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Rubio told lawmakers that Trump’s preferred option is to buy Greenland from Denmark. He added that the threats did not signal an imminent invasion.
