Starmer risks Trump’s wrath with 6-word reaction to Greenland takeover plan | Politics | News
Sir Keir Starmer “set out his position on Greenland” in his phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday evening, Downing Street said. Downing Street did not provide further details about Sir Keir’s comments during the call or the US President’s reaction to them. The phone call came on January 7, a day after the White House ruled out using the military to seize Danish territory.
The world’s largest island has been described by Mr Trump as vital to US national security. And on Wednesday, the United States refused to categorically rule out the possibility of using “military means” to seize the island. Asked whether Mr Trump wanted to buy Greenland, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “That was the president’s intention from the very beginning, he said it very early on. This is not new, he talked about it in his first term, and he is not the first US president to study or explore how we can acquire Greenland.”
But he added: “If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president reserves the option to resolve it by military means.”
The British Prime Minister has repeatedly said over the past few days, including to the House of Commons earlier on Wednesday, that the region’s future should be solely a matter for Greenland and Denmark.
“The future of Greenland is only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said at today’s PMQs. But he insisted he would not let the issue drive a wedge between Washington and London.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked whether Sir Keir agreed with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who said on Monday that US military intervention in a NATO ally would mean the end of the transatlantic alliance.
Sir Keir told the Liberal Democrat leader: “Of course NATO is very important, it is the most effective and important military alliance the world has ever known. He is encouraging me to walk away from parts of NATO and choose between Europe and the USA. That would be a strategic mistake for our country.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy spoke about the importance of UK-US special relations during his visit to the 250th anniversary of America’s independence and is set to meet US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday.
Britain also became one of six European countries rallying in support on Tuesday, issuing a joint statement saying Copenhagen and Greenland “belong to their people”.
Wednesday’s meeting also saw Sir Keir and Mr Trump discussing the seizure of the oil tanker Marinera earlier in the day, with negotiations continuing over the future of Ukraine and US military action in Venezuela.
The two men are speaking for the first time since U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday and brought him to New York.
