Denmark Urges Trump to Cease Threats to Take Over Greenland

COPENHAGEN — Denmark has urged former US President Donald Trump to stop making statements about taking control of Greenland, stressing that Washington has no legal or political right to annex the autonomous Danish territory.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenland is not for sale and cannot be taken over by another country, responding to renewed remarks by Trump in which he claimed the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons.
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people,” Frederiksen said, adding that Denmark and the United States are close allies, but sovereignty and international law must be respected.
Trump, who first floated the idea of buying Greenland during his presidency in 2019, has again raised the issue in recent statements, citing the island’s strategic location in the Arctic and growing geopolitical competition in the region.
Greenland’s government has also firmly rejected the idea, reiterating that the territory seeks greater self-determination, not a change of sovereignty. Officials in Nuuk said any discussion about Greenland’s future must involve its people directly.
The renewed dispute comes amid heightened global focus on the Arctic, where melting ice has increased access to shipping routes and natural resources, intensifying interest from major powers including the US, Russia, and China.