Greenland warns ‘that’s enough’ as Trump renews push to bring Arctic territory into U.S.
Greenland and Denmark condemned fresh calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for the autonomous Arctic territory to become part of the United States, as European leaders lined up to reject any prospect of annexation and insisted Greenland’s future rests solely with Copenhagen and Nuuk.
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Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated his goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he told reporters, casting the ice-capped island as a strategic asset in the Arctic.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a blunt rebuke. “That’s enough now,” he wrote on Facebook. “No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation.” Nielsen said the territory remained “open to dialogue” and “discussions,” but only “through the proper channels and with respect for international law.”
Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, urged Washington to stop “threatening its historical ally,” calling the notion that the United States should take control of Greenland “absolutely absurd.” She emphasized that Denmark — and therefore Greenland — is a NATO member protected by the alliance’s security guarantees.
The flurry of criticism followed days of heightened tension. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears in Europe about the precedent for territorial grabs. European officials said the move rattled Western allies after Trump attacked Caracas and Nicolás Maduro was taken into custody in New York. Trump has said the United States will “run” Venezuela indefinitely and tap its oil reserves.
Asked by The Atlantic about implications for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump deflected before returning to his core national-security case. “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know,” he said, adding: “But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.” He has also claimed Russian and Chinese ships were “all over” Greenland’s coast.
Key allies voiced support for Copenhagen and Nuuk. “No one decides for Greenland and Denmark but Greenland and Denmark themselves,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on X, a message echoed by Sweden and Norway. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he stood with Denmark, telling reporters: “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else.”
France’s Foreign Ministry expressed “solidarity” with Denmark. Spokesman Pascal Confavreux told TF1 that “borders cannot be changed by force.” China, responding to Trump’s comments about activity near Greenland, urged “the U.S. to stop using the so-called China threat as an excuse to seek personal gain.”
The dispute spilled onto social media after former Trump aide Katie Miller posted an image of Greenland in the colors of the U.S. flag with the caption “SOON.” Nielsen called the post “disrespectful,” writing on X that “our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.” Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, offered a pointed “friendly reminder” that Copenhagen has “significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts” in close cooperation with Washington. “We are close allies and should continue to work together as such,” he wrote.
The extraordinary back-and-forth lays bare the stakes in the Arctic, where climate change is opening sea lanes and amplifying great-power competition. While Trump frames Greenland as a bulwark against Russia and China, Europe’s response has been unequivocal: sovereignty and alliance commitments, not unilateral pressure, will decide the island’s path.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
