Starmer says he stands with Denmark after Trump’s threats over Greenland
Sir Keir Starmer insisted he was “on” Denmark after Donald Trump dramatically threatened to annex Greenland.
The Prime Minister told his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen that the US president was “right” to reject any claims to the region.
Sir Keir’s signal of solidarity with NATO ally Denmark came as the US president suggested at the weekend that Venezuela may not be the last country to suffer American intervention after his administration struck Caracas and captured president Nicolas Maduro.
“We definitely need Greenland,” Trump told Atlantic magazine after the operation in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s senior aides, published a photo of Greenland in the American flag colors with the word “coming soon” on social media after the Venezuela operation.
The Danish leader responded by writing in a statement that “the United States has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom, which includes Greenland.”
Asked about Ms Frederiksen’s harsh language during a visit to a community center in Berkshire, Sir Keir told Sky News: “I’m with her and she’s right about the future of Greenland.”
Elsewhere, the BBC asked the prime minister whether he accepted Danish calls for the US president to stop suggesting American annexation of the island.
“Yes,” replied Sir Keir, adding: “The future of Greenland will be decided by Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark, and only by Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Denmark is a close ally of Europe, a NATO ally, and as I said, the future of Greenland is very important for the Kingdom of Denmark, for Greenland, and just for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
The Labor government has been developing closer ties with Denmark in recent months and is taking cues on how to curb illegal immigration from Ms Frederiksen’s government, which has a similar political tradition.
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