Denmark’s PM says US attack on Greenland will end NATO

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says a US attack on Greenland would mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

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During an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2 on Monday, Mrs Frederiksen said that the US choosing to attack another NATO country will end the alliance.

“One should take the American president seriously when he says that he wants Greenland.

“If the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War,” She said, according to Al Jazeera.

Her statement follows repeated calls by the US President Donald Trump for the Island to be under the country’s control.

Mr Trump has cited security concerns as justification for the proposed annexation of the island. His recent comment on the semi-autonomous island, which came after the US military attacked Venezuela and abducted President Nicholas Maduro, disturbed world leaders.

The US military action in the Latin American country was felt across the globe. Mr Trump, following the attack, told reporters on Sunday that he would talk about Greenland in 20 days.

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Although Denmark has been diverting growing sums of money to the self-governing territory of 57,000 people, including billions of dollars for defence and infrastructure, Mr Trump said the country isn’t doing enough to protect the island.

“They have a very small population, and I don’t know — they say Denmark, but Denmark has spent no money. They have no military protection.

“They say that Denmark was there 300 years ago or something, with a boat. Well, we were there with boats too, I’m sure. So we’ll have to work it all out,” he had said.

Several European leaders, however, have declared support for Denmark.

Voicing his support for the Nordic country, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “I stand with her, and she’s right about the future of Greenland.”

France and Germany have also said they stand by Greenland.

Why Trump wants Greenland

However, Mr Trump is not the first US leader to declare interest in Greenland. The US interest in the Island dates back to the mid-19th century, specifically 1867, when Washington first formally explored the idea of purchasing the island from Denmark.

That year, Secretary of State William Seward commissioned a study on acquiring Greenland and Iceland, shortly after the US bought Alaska from Russia. The logic was based on strategic interest: Arctic access, trade routes, and long-term security considerations. This effort, however, was unsuccessful.

Greenland sits at a crossroads between the North Atlantic and the Arctic. Its vast reserves of critical minerals and fossil fuels are of growing interest to the US and its two major rival countries, China and Russia.

Although an ice sheet covers most of the Island, climate change is accelerating its melting, potentially making those resources more accessible, while also opening shorter maritime routes linking North America, Europe and Asia.

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Mr Trump has, however, claimed his decision to annex the country is not influenced by mineral wealth, adding that the US already has adequate access to critical minerals.

Greenland also hosts the US military’s northernmost air base and a radar installation critical for missile warning and space surveillance.