Trump’s Appointment Of Envoy To Greenland Sparks New Tension With Denmark
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted on Monday that the United States would not seize Greenland and demanded that their territorial integrity be respected after President Donald Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy to the semi-autonomous region.
Trump’s announcement Sunday that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry would be envoy sparked new tensions over Washington’s interest in the vast territory of NATO ally Denmark. Denmark’s foreign minister told Danish broadcasters that he would summon the US ambassador to his ministry.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement: “We have said it before. Now we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are based on international law.” he said. “These are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Even with an argument about international security.”
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the United States will not seize Greenland,” they added in a statement emailed by Frederiksen’s office. “We expect respect for our common territorial integrity.”
Trump has repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland during his presidential transition and in the early months of his second term, and has not ruled out military force to seize control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island. In March, Vice President J.D. Vance visited a remote US military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting there.
The issue gradually receded from the headlines, but in August Danish officials summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen following a report that at least three people with ties to Trump were running covert influence operations in Greenland.
On Sunday, Trump announced Landry’s appointment, saying on social media that “Jeff understands how important Greenland is to our National Security and will vigorously advance our Nation’s Interests for the Safety, Security and Survival of our Allies and indeed the World.”
“It is an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland part of the United States,” Landry wrote in a post on social media.
The Trump administration gave no warning ahead of the announcement, according to a Danish government official who discussed internal deliberations on condition of anonymity.
The official also said that Danish officials expected Trump to signal an aggressive approach towards Greenland and the Arctic in the US administration’s new national security strategy, and were surprised that neither was mentioned in the document.
Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said Monday that Trump decided to create the special envoy role because the administration views Greenland as “a strategically important place in the Arctic to maintain peace through force.”
Danish broadcasters TV2 and DR reported that in statements from the Faroe Islands on Monday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that he would summon US Ambassador to Copenhagen Kenneth Howery to his ministry.
In a separate statement, Greenland’s prime minister wrote that Greenland had once again woken up to a new announcement from the US president and that “this may sound important. But it changes nothing for us here at home.”
Nielsen noted that Greenland has its own democracy and said, “We are happy to cooperate with other countries, including the USA, but this must always be done by respecting us, our values and our wishes.”
Earlier this month, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service said in its annual report that the United States was using its economic power to “assert its will” and threatened military force against friend and foe alike.
Denmark is a member of NATO as well as the European Union.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive commission, said on social media that Arctic security was a “main priority” for the bloc and that it aimed to work with allies and partners. He also said that territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law.
“We stand in full solidarity with the people of Denmark and Greenland,” he wrote.
