U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his campaign to annex Greenland, a territory of Denmark.
In December, Trump announced a special envoy to Greenland.
This week, he added: “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.”
The leaders of Greenland and Denmark have criticised Trump’s comments.
Greenland
Greenland is an island of 56,000 people, located between Europe and North America. It has untapped mineral and oil deposits.
Greenland is a territory of Denmark.
Its head of state is Danish King Frederik X. However, Greenland is mainly ‘self-governing,’ creating its own laws for major issues.
The U.S. has had a military base in Greenland since the 1950s.
Trump has previously said the U.S. needs control of Greenland “for national security purposes”.
In January 2025, Trump repeated that Denmark should “give it up”.
Latest
On Sunday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Greenland is "so strategic right now" and said: "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, not minerals."
The comments build on Trump's December appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as U.S. Special Envoy to Greenland.
Landry said Trump asked him to "go to Greenland and talk to them about the opportunity of being a part of the U.S."
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Presidential advisor Stephen Miller told CNN that Greenland should “be part of the United States,” but “nobody’s gonna fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN that Trump is looking at options to “pursue this important foreign policy goal,”.
Leavitt said using the U.S. military is “always an option”.
Response
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the nation “is our country” and “no one is coming to take it over.”
Nielsen said Greenland “seeks dialogue with the United States”.
“We are an open, democratic society with strong institutions,” he added.
NATO
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged the U.S. “to stop the threats against a historically close ally”.
Frederiksen said the country is part of NATO, making it covered by a “security guarantee.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is an alliance of North American and European countries that must come to the defence of fellow members if attacked.
Yesterday, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and Denmark released a joint statement saying that they have “increased our presence... to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.”
They said Arctic security must be achieved “collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter”.
“Greenland belongs to its people,” they ended.
