‘Not an object in real-power rhetoric’: Greenland responds to Trump’s annexation remark

Greenland Premier Jens Frederik Nielsen said the repeated rhetoric coming from the US is unacceptable. He said threats and talks of annexation have no place between friends. Nielsen said this after President Donald Trump claimed that the US needed to “have” Greenland for its national security – a remark that has triggered widespread condemnation, including from Denmark.

“We have been a close and loyal friend of the United States for generations. We have stood shoulder to shoulder in difficult times. We have taken responsibility for security in the North Atlantic – and not least for North America. That is what true friends do. Precisely for that reason, the current and repeated rhetoric coming from the United States is entirely unacceptable,” said Nielsen.

He said Trump’s remarks about the US “needing Greenland” was not only wrong, it was also disrespectful. Nielsen said Greenland was not an “object in real-power rhetoric” and must be respected, especially by close and loyal friends.

“We are part of NATO, and we are fully aware of our country’s strategic location. We also understand that our security depends on good friends and strong alliances,” he said, stressing on the loyal relationship with the US.

“Threats, pressure, and talk of annexation have no place between friends. That is not how one speaks to a people who have repeatedly demonstrated responsibility, stability, and loyalty,” he said, adding that enough is enough and that there should be no more pressure, insinuations or fantasies of annexation.

Nielsen said that Greenland was open to dialogue but only through proper channels and in full respect of international law. “And the proper channels are not random and disrespectful posts on social media,” he said.

He had earlier stated that Greenland was not for sale, and said that the image of Greenland wrapped in the American flag was “disrespectful”. Nielsen said there was no reason for panic but every reason to speak out against lack of respect.

Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also said that it makes absolutely no sense to talk about the US needing to take over Greenland, and that it has no right to annexe any of the countries of the Danish kingdom.

Trump had said that the US needs Greenland for national security, not for minerals. “We need Greenland for national security. If you look up and down its coast, you will see Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We have to have it,” he said a day after Washington captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and said they would run the Latin American country.

This raised concerns in Denmark that the same could happen with Greenland, a Danish territory. The former Danish colony has the right to declare independence under a 2009 agreement but depends heavily on Danish subsidies.