“Greenland is not up for sale!” is the clear message from Denmark to US President Trump, with Denmark’s Prime Minister calling US President Donald Trump’s idea of buying the self-governed Danish territory in the Arctic “an absurd discussion”. “I persistently hope that this is not something that is seriously meant, “Danish PM Mette Frederiksen told reporters on Sunday during a planned two-day visit to the world’s largest island and added that “Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic.”
Her comments came after Trump said on Sunday he was interested in the idea of a purchase, though it was not a priority for his administration. “Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not No. 1 on the burner, I can tell you that,” said the US president, who yesterday cancelled his planned state visit to Denmark on 2-3 September as part of a trip to Europe. Trump has called the Danish leader “nasty” after she rebuffed his idea of buying Greenland, adding that “it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to do is say no, we wouldn’t be interested.” Some observers see Trump’s offer to buy Greenland as yet another attempt on the part of the US president to disrupt the postwar Western order by trying to expand his country’s geopolitical influence in the Arctic.
“Thankfully, the time where you buy and sell other countries and populations is over. Let’s leave it there. Jokes aside, we will, of course, love to have an even closer strategic relationship with the United States,” Danish PM said, noting that the Arctic “is becoming increasingly important to the entire world community”. Retreating ice could uncover potential mineral and oil resources in Greenland, which, if successfully tapped, could dramatically change the island’s fortunes. Under a 1951 deal, the US Air Force currently maintains one base in northern Greenland, Thule Air Force Base, some 1,200km south of the North Pole. Former military airfields in Narsarsuaq, Kulusuk and Kangerlussuaq have become civilian airports.
