Irina Nesterova19:19, 11.01.25

The Danish government has expressed its willingness to discuss any other US request regarding the island other than its sale.

The Danish government has sent private messages to US President-elect Donald Trump’s team about its willingness to discuss beefing up security or increasing the US military presence on the island of Greenland, as the authorities want to avoid a public clash with the new US administration, Axios reports, citing two informed sources.

In its communications, the Danish government asked Trump’s team to clarify what the president-elect meant by his comments about the island, the sources said. Also, “the Danish government made it clear that Greenland is not for sale, but expressed a willingness to discuss any other U.S. request on the island.”

The publication noted that the US already has a military base in Greenland and a 1951 agreement with Denmark on the protection of the island, according to which, supposedly, “it is easy to discuss increasing American forces.”

Copenhagen has seen Trump’s refusal to rule out a military takeover of Greenland as a threat to invade a long-standing NATO ally, so the Danish government wants to convince the US president-elect, in particular through private messages to his advisers, that “its security concerns can be addressed without demanding Greenland for the US,” Axios notes.

The article, citing a European diplomat, says that Denmark is seen by many as one of the closest US allies in the EU, and no one could have imagined that “it would become the first country with which Trump would start a fight.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Mute Egede met in Copenhagen on Friday to discuss the situation. Following the meeting, both said at a press conference that they were ready to meet with Trump.

“Greenland is for the people of Greenland. We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American. We want to be Greenlanders,” Egede said.

The publication cites the opinion of the founder and senior fellow of the Arctic Institute, Malte Humpert, who noted that if Trump’s real concern is security, “there is no reason why the US cannot simply increase its military presence and capabilities in Greenland as part of its alliance with Denmark.”

However, due to the president-elect’s constant statements, as well as his son’s visit to the island, “officials in Denmark and Greenland cannot rule out the possibility that Trump is serious enough.”

The publication adds: the question remains open whether Trump will be happy with the agreement with Denmark, or whether he still wants to become “the first president in 80 years to gain new territories for the United States.”

Trump’s Encroachment on Greenland: Latest News

As UNIAN reported earlier, it was not Trump who came up with the “American dream” of Greenland . Proposals to purchase the island have been put forward by American leaders many times since the 19th century, and reflected the US desire for territorial expansion, geopolitical control, and strengthening national security.

If Trump were to follow through on his threat to annex Greenland by force, “it would be the shortest war in the world” because Greenland has no defensive capabilities, said Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior fellow at the Danish Institute of International Studies.

According to some Western analysts, the intention of the newly elected US President Donald Trump to gain control over the island of Greenland could be beneficial to the Kremlin , since it articulates the expansionist policy that Russia is currently practicing in Ukraine.

(C)UNIAN 2025