Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen slammed the U.S. on April 3 for its repeated threats to take over Greenland.
"You cannot annex another country... Not even with an argument about international security," Frederiksen said on April 3 in response to inflammatory remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House administration threatening to assume control of Greenland.
"This is not only about Greenland or Denmark... This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over the generations," Frederiksen added.
On March 29, Trump said there is a "good possibility" the U.S. could annex Greenland without using military force, but did not rule it out. "We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%," Trump said.
Frederiksen described the U.S. threats to annex Greenland as a shock to the many years of cooperation between Denmark and the U.S.
"When you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory, when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally, what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years?" Frederiksen said.
On March 29, when asked what the annexation of Greenland would signal to Russia, which has been illegally occupying Ukrainian lands since 2014, Trump said that was not a concern.
"I don't really think about that. I don't really care. Greenland's a very separate subject, very different. It's international peace. It's international security and strength," Trump said.
Greenland is a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The territory is home to a U.S. military base and vast reserves of mineral wealth.
Chris York
(Updated: )
