Denmark ready to defend Greenland, says prime minister

Denmark is prepared to defend Greenland, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters at a NATO summit in Ankara, following renewed statements by US President Donald Trump expressing a desire for American control over the territory.

“We are ready to defend every centimetre of NATO, including our own territory,” Frederiksen said when asked if Denmark was prepared to defend Greenland militarily. “Of course Denmark is ready to defend the Kingdom of Denmark.”

She emphasised that Greenland is not for sale and urged respect for Greenland’s right to self-determination. “We hope that everyone—including our allies—will respect the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination. We are a sovereign state, and we need everyone to respect our territorial sovereignty and independence.”

Frederiksen confirmed she had not spoken with Trump at the summit but was “unfortunately not surprised” by his remarks. “From the start, I have said he is serious, the Americans are serious, and so are we. We will not change our Danish and Greenlandic position.”

“Greenland has clearly stated they do not wish to be part of the United States. We have sovereignty as a Kingdom. We will not compromise on that. We want to work with the Americans on security and defence,” she added.

Frederiksen noted Denmark meets NATO’s defence spending target of 5% of GDP and stressed the need to focus on external threats rather than internal NATO disputes. “There are plenty of enemies outside NATO. We do not need enmity within NATO.”

She also confirmed that a working group involving the US, Greenland, and Denmark would continue its efforts, regardless of public statements from any party.

Trump reiterated his stance on Tuesday, stating, “Greenland should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark,” while criticising Denmark for insufficient efforts to protect the territory and repeating claims that Greenland is “surrounded by Chinese and Russian ships.”