• Trump has threatened to acquire the island
• Kremlin ‘watching president-elect closely’ over rhetoric
• Europe calls for respecting island’s ‘sovereignty’

COPENHAGEN: The United States has no current plans to increase its military presence in Greenland, the US embassy in Copenhagen said on Thursday, after President-elect Donald Trump expressed renewed interest in acquiring the vast Arctic island.

Trump, who takes office on Jan 20, said this week that US control of the strategically important island was an “absolute necessity” and did not rule out using military or economic action such as tariffs against Denmark to make it happen.

Greenland, the world’s largest island, has been controlled by Denmark for centuries, though its 57,000 people now govern their own domestic affairs.

“There are no plans to increase the United States’ current military footprint in Greenland,” the spokesperson told Reuters. “We will continue to work closely with Copenhagen and Nuuk (Greenland’s capital) to ensure any proposals meet our common security needs.”

The US military maintains a permanent presence at the Pituffik air base in Greenland’s northwest.

Greenland is crucial for the US military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.

Russian threat

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Moscow was following closely the “dramatic development” on Greenland and said the Arctic fell within Russia’s zone of strategic national interests.

“We are very closely watching this rather dramatic development of the situation, which is, thank God, at the level of statements so far,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “We are interested in preserving peace and stability in this zone and are ready to co-operate with any parties for this peace and stability,” he added.

He also suggested the people of Greenland be consulted about what they wanted, pointing to Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions in 2022 based on referendums.

“We should show the same respect for the opinion of these people,” Peskov said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday said that Greenland’s sovereignty must be respected. “Greenland is part of Denmark,” Kallas told journalists.

“We have to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland.”

Kallas said she had spoken to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after Trump’s comments. “She assured that the Danish and American relations have been very good,” Kallas said.

“She also said that it’s good that the president-elect takes an interest in the Arctic, which is a very important region, both for security but also for climate change.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted that “borders must not be moved by force. This principle applies to every country, whether in the East or the West”. “In talks with our European partners, there is an uneasiness regarding recent statements from the US. It is clear: We must stand together,” he wrote in English on X.

Britain’s Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Thursday he believed Trump recognised that Greenland was part of Denmark and that concerns about Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic lay behind the US president-elect’s remarks.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday dismissed speculation the United States might use force to take Greenland or the Panama Canal, saying Donald Trump’s comments on the issue were aimed at China.

“I feel like I can rule out that the United States in the coming years will try to forcefully annex territories that interest them,” Meloni told reporters at her annual press conference.

She said Trump’s remarks were “more of a message to… other big global players”.

Meloni noted the Panama Canal and Greenland “are both territories in which we have witnessed a growing Chinese prominence in recent years”.

Greenland is already covered by US security guarantees via Denmark’s membership of Nato. Although the former colony is now broadly self-governing within the kingdom of Denmark, security and foreign affairs are still handled by Copenhagen.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said this week she could not imagine that the United States would use military intervention in Greenland and said it was up to the people of Greenland to decide what they want.

Frederiksen summoned leaders of Denmark’s political parties to a meeting for a briefing about Trump’s renewed interest. She rebuffed an offer from Trump in 2019 to buy Greenland. On Wednesday, Frederiksen hosted Greenland’s leader Mute Egede for talks in Copenhagen where Egede favours independence for his homeland.

Egede discussed trade and other issues with the outgoing US ambassador in Copenhagen on Wednesday, the embassy said.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2025