During a speech in Davos Donald Trump said that Denmark and Greenland are “ungrateful” because “without us, you’d be speaking German and Japanese perhaps.”
The US President said he has “tremendous respect” for Greenlanders and Danes and said America has been fighting for Denmark and they saved Greenland.
Trump told the World Economic Forum (WEF), “I have tremendous respect for the people of Greenland and Denmark, but every Nato members has the obligation to defend their own territory. Only the US can defend it [Greenland].”
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“We literally set up bases in Greenland for Denmark, we were fighting for Denmark, but we saved Greenland and prevented our enemies from getting it. Greenland is a vast, almost uninhabitated piece of ice.
“It’s in a key, strategic location between the US, China, and Russia.”
Trump added, “We need it [Greenland] for strategic national security and international security. The island is part of North America, it is our territory. It is the US alone that can protect this great piece of ice and make it that it is safe and good for Europe.
“I am seeking immediate negotiations to discuss the acquisition of this territory, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have”. He maintained that “this would not be a threat to Nato,” but it “would greatly enhance the security of the alliance”.
The US President has ruled out military action to “take control” of Greenland, he said, “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable.
“But I won’t do that. I don’t have to use force, I don’t want to use force, I won’t use force.”
President Trump warned he will remember if Denmark or the allies allow him to have Greenland,
Trump said, “We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it. We’ve never asked for anything else and we could have kept that piece of land and we didn’t. So they have a choice: you can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember.”
Trump said that previous Presidents have wanted to have Greenland for more than two centuries.
He said, “In 2019, Denmark said that they would spend over $200m to strengthen Greenland’s defences. But as you know, they spent less than 1% of that amount.
“There’s no sign of Denmark there. I say that with great respect for Denmark, whose people I love [and] whose leaders are very good.”
Trump said again, that the US alone can protect Greenland, “develop it and improve it and make it so that it’s good for Europe and safe for Europe, and good for us.”
“That’s the reason I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States, just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history, as many of the European nations have.
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”
Sir Nick Harvey, CEO of European Movement UK and former Armed Forces minister, told LondonLovesBusiness.com, “Donald Trump’s speech was a reiteration of what we already knew.
“Although his bark is worse than his bite, there does not seem to be a negotiation on Greenland that could satisfy both sides. He said that he wanted to begin negotiations on ‘acquiring’ Greenland‘ immediately. And that all he was asking for was ‘a piece of ice.’ European leaders are faced with an extremely difficult situation.
“These events underline a reality that has been building for some time. The United Kingdom can no longer rely on the United States to act consistently as a good-faith partner in defence and foreign policy. Our security must rest on predictable partnerships and steady institutions, rather than the whims of an unpredictable White House. As the special relationship frays, renewed commitment to Europe offers the only credible route. That means close military cooperation, at the very least, across the continent.
“Trump added that if the US was to acquire Greenland then it would be ‘very grateful,’ but that if the EU said ‘no’ then the USA would ‘remember.’
“By working far more closely with our European neighbours, politically and economically, and through deeper defence cooperation, the UK can help build a credible, collective European defence grounded in shared values and the rule of law. Europe is where our security and prosperity lie, and that is the basis on which we should build.
“Let us be clear, attempts by any state to bully another nation or lay claim to its territory undermine the basic principles of international law and collective security on which peace depends. Such behaviour is wholly unacceptable from anyone, let alone from the leader of a country that has long claimed to stand for the rules-based international order.”
