US President Donald Trump is not backing down from his plan to occupy Greenland. A high-level meeting of the US administration with representatives of Denmark and Greenland in Washington on Wednesday ended without any solution. After the meeting, Denmark said that Trump is adamant on his decision to ‘conquer’ Greenland.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance yesterday. Although the meeting was organized in the hope of easing tensions, no progress was made.
After the meeting, Rasmussen expressed disappointment and told reporters, ‘We have not been able to change the US position. It is clear that President Trump intends to conquer Greenland.’
On the same day, Donald Trump argued again for his position at an event in the Oval Office of the White House. He said, ‘Greenland is very important to the United States in the interests of national security. The problem is, if Russia or China want to take over Greenland, Denmark will have nothing to do. But we have the ability to do everything.’
Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt has expressed interest in increasing military and security cooperation with the United States, but has made it clear that Greenland does not want to be anyone’s ‘property’. The Greenland government said on social media that according to a public opinion poll, only 6 percent of local residents voted in favor of becoming part of the United States.
While European allies want to increase security cooperation with the United States to counter the growing influence of Russia and China in the Arctic, Trump’s main goal is full control or ‘ownership’ of Greenland.
Currently, there is a US military base in Greenland, where 150 people are working. Although he has agreed to further increase the US military presence in Denmark and Greenland, Trump claims that any proposal other than establishing full control in the region is unacceptable to him. Trump’s stance has caused a major rift in the long-standing relationship between Denmark and the United States.
