Denmark's Prime Minister has vowed to defend the country's sovereignty over Greenland, after President Donald Trump suggested that the US should control the Arctic island for NATO defense purposes.
At the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that Denmark is "ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory." She emphasized that Greenland is a sovereign territory and that Denmark needs its allies to respect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in acquiring Greenland, saying that it is "very important" for the US and that it should be controlled by the US, not Denmark. He has also criticized Denmark's support for Greenland, suggesting that the country does not spend enough money to help the territory.
However, Greenlandic officials have consistently rejected the idea of US control, insisting that the island's future should be decided by its people. Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir also weighed in, saying that Greenland's people "do not wish to be a part of the United States."
The dispute has injected a tense territorial confrontation into the NATO summit, which is already focused on issues such as defense spending and European security. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to emphasize the alliance's recent defense spending increases, but Trump continued to criticize his allies over both Greenland and Iran.
The NATO summit is also expected to address Ukraine's war against Russia, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressing allies for deeper support and renewed consideration of Ukraine's bid to join the alliance. However, Trump's comments on Greenland underscored a growing challenge for NATO leaders: projecting unity against outside threats while managing disputes inside the alliance itself.
