5 months ago
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Denmark and Greenland's envoys to Washington person begun a vigorous effort to impulse U.S. lawmakers arsenic good arsenic cardinal Trump medication officials to measurement backmost from President Donald Trump's telephone for a “takeover” of the strategical Arctic island.
Denmark's Ambassador, Jesper Møller Sørensen, and Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland's main typical to Washington, met connected Thursday (January 8, 2026) with White House National Security Council officials to sermon a renewed propulsion by Mr. Trump to get Greenland, possibly by subject force, according to Danish authorities officials who were not authorised to remark publically and spoke connected the information of anonymity.
The White House did not respond to a petition for remark astir the meeting.
The envoys person besides held a bid of meetings this week with American lawmakers arsenic they look to enlist assistance successful persuading Mr. Trump to backmost disconnected his threat.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to conscionable adjacent week with Danish officials.
Mr. Trump, successful a New York Times interrogation published connected Thursday, said helium has to person the entirety of Greenland alternatively of conscionable exercising a long-standing pact that gives the United States wide latitude to usage Greenland for subject posts.
“I deliberation that ownership gives you a happening that you can't bash with, you're talking astir a lease oregon a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can't get from conscionable signing a document,” Mr. Trump told the newspaper.
The U.S. is enactment to a 1951 pact that gives it wide rights to acceptable up subject bases determination with the consent of Denmark and Greenland.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump's Vice-President, J.D. Vance, told reporters that European leaders should “take the President of the United States seriously” arsenic helium framed the contented arsenic 1 of defence.
“What we're asking our European friends to bash is instrumentality the information of that landmass much seriously, due to the fact that if they're not, the United States is going to person to bash thing astir it,” Mr. Vance said.
Danish officials were hopeful astir the upcoming talks with Mr. Rubio successful Washington.
“This is the dialog that is needed, arsenic requested by the authorities unneurotic with the Greenlandic government,” Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
The land of Greenland, 80% of which lies supra the Arctic Circle, is location to astir 56,000 mostly Inuit people.
Vance criticises Denmark
Mr. Vance said connected Wednesday that Denmark “obviously” had not done a due occupation successful securing Greenland and that Mr. Trump “is consenting to spell arsenic acold arsenic helium has to” to support American interests successful the Arctic.
In an interrogation with Fox News, Mr. Vance repeated Mr. Trump's assertion that Greenland is important to some the U.S. and the world's nationalist information due to the fact that "the full rocket defence infrastructure is partially babelike connected Greenland.”
He said the information that Denmark has been a faithful subject state of the U.S. during World War II and the much caller “war connected terrorism” did not needfully mean they were doing capable to unafraid Greenland today.
“Just due to the fact that you did thing astute 25 years agone doesn't mean you can't bash thing dumb now,” Mr. Vance said, adding that Mr. Trump "is saying precise clearly, you are not doing a bully occupation with respect to Greenland.'”
Right to self-determination
Earlier, Mr. Rubio told a prime radical of U.S. lawmakers that it was the Republican administration's volition to yet acquisition Greenland, arsenic opposed to utilizing subject force.
“Many Greenlanders consciousness that the remarks made are disrespectful," Aaja Chemnitz, 1 of the 2 Greenlandic politicians successful the Danish parliament, told The Associated Press. "Many besides acquisition that these conversations are being discussed implicit their heads. We person a steadfast saying successful Greenland, Nothing astir Greenland, without Greenland.'”
She said astir Greenlanders "wish for much self-determination, including independence” but besides privation to “strengthen practice with our partners” successful information and concern improvement arsenic agelong arsenic it is based connected “mutual respect and designation of our close to self-determination.”
Ms. Chemnitz denied a assertion by Mr. Trump that Greenland is "covered with Russian and Chinese ships each implicit the place.”
Greenland is “a long-standing state and spouse to the U.S. and we person a shared involvement successful stability, security, and liable practice successful the Arctic,” she said.
“There is an statement with the U.S. that gives them entree to person bases successful Greenland if needed.”
France's President Emmanuel Macron has denounced the “law of the strongest” that is making radical “wonder if Greenland volition beryllium invaded.”
In a code to French ambassadors astatine the Elysee statesmanlike palace connected Thursday, Mr. Macron said: “It's the top disorder, the instrumentality of the strongest, and mundane radical wonderment whether Greenland volition beryllium invaded, whether Canada volition beryllium nether the menace of becoming the 51st authorities [of the United States] oregon whether Taiwan is to beryllium further circled.”
He pointed to an “increasingly dysfunctional” satellite wherever large powers, including the U.S. and China, person “a existent temptation to disagreement the satellite amongst themselves.”
The United States is “gradually turning distant from immoderate of its allies and freeing itself from the planetary rules,” Mr. Macron said. (
