President Donald Trump has said the United States needs Greenland for its \u201cnational security\u201d after naming Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to the Danish Arctic island, prompting protests from Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need Greenland for national security, not for minerals,\u201d Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday, adding that Landry would \u201clead the charge\u201d.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Landry said he would make the Arctic territory \u201ca part of the US\u201d.<\/p>\n The comments drew sharp rebukes from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland\u2019s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot annex another country \u2026 Not even with an argument about international security,\u201d they said in a joint statement. \u201cGreenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the US shall not take over Greenland,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n Since Trump returned to the White House in January, he has commented on several occasions about his desire for the mineral-rich island, a demand Denmark and many other European nations have steadfastly rejected.<\/p>\n So, what does Trump sending an envoy mean for Greenland, and could he succeed in acquiring it?<\/p>\n The US president insisted that the resource-rich island is \u201cessential\u201d for security reasons, rather than for its mineral resources.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,\u201d he said on Monday, while adding that the US has \u201cmany sites for minerals and oil\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s interest in Greenland is not new.<\/p>\n During his first term as US president from 2017 to 2021, he mooted the idea of buying the island from Denmark. Trump then postponed a 2019 visit to the Nordic country after Danish PM Frederiksen slammed the idea.<\/p>\n He has refused to rule out the use of military force to seize control, noting in March that the US would \u201cgo as far as we have to\u201d.<\/p>\n Geographically part of North America, Greenland\u2019s capital, Nuuk, lies about 2,900km (1,800 miles) from New York \u2013 closer than it is to Copenhagen, Denmark\u2019s capital, which is situated roughly 3,500km (2,174 miles) to the east.<\/p>\n The semi-autonomous territory has a population of 57,000 people.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the US president appointed Louisiana Governor Landry as special envoy to Greenland, prompting anger from Copenhagen, which summoned the US ambassador to explain the decision.<\/p>\n Following the announcement, Landry said it would be an honour to serve in a role meant to \u201cmake Greenland a part of the US\u201d, further amplifying Denmark\u2019s concerns about the White House\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said Landry is aware \u201chow essential Greenland is\u201d for US national security.<\/p>\n Marc Jacobsen, a professor at the Royal Danish Defence College in Denmark, said while Trump is \u201cclearly serious\u201d about his interest in Greenland, it is unlikely he would try to take it by force.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we certainly see attempts to gain influence through other channels such as strategic investments and pushing narratives that portray Denmark as a bad partner,\u201d Jacobsen told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cThe appointment of Jeff Landry as special envoy and Tom Dans as the leader of the US Arctic Research Commission should be seen as new elements in this strategy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Lokke Rasmussen, the foreign minister of Denmark, said Trump\u2019s appointment of Landry confirmed continued US interest in Greenland.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we insist that everyone \u2013 including the US \u2013 must show respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,\u201d he told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n On Monday, Greenland\u2019s Prime Minister Nielsen said Greenland is friendly towards Washington and that \u201cthey know there is no obstacle to the United States increasing security in the Arctic on Greenlandic territory if they wish to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cBut going from that to pressuring to take over a country that is populated and has its own sovereignty is not acceptable,\u201d Nielsen told the daily Sermitsiaq.<\/p>\n People in Greenland broadly favour increased independence from Denmark \u2013 but not the transfer of sovereignty to the US.<\/p>\n In 2009, Denmark granted Greenland extensive self-governing powers, including the right to pursue independence from Denmark via a referendum.<\/p>\n In August, Denmark summoned the US charge d\u2019affaires after at least three officials linked to former President Trump were spotted in Greenland\u2019s capital, Nuuk, gauging local sentiment on strengthening ties with the US.<\/p>\n In March, US Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, were accompanied by White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on a tour of the US\u2019s Pituffik Space Base\u00a0in northwestern Greenland \u201cto receive a briefing on Arctic security issues and meet with US service members\u201d, according to a statement released by Vance\u2019s office.<\/p>\n However, Greenland\u2019s acting head of government, Mute Egede, wrote in an online post at the time that Greenland had not in fact extended any invitation for an official or private visit.<\/p>\n In response to Landry\u2019s announcement, European Union Commission President \u2060Ursula von der Leyen and European Council \u200dPresident Antonio Costa said Arctic \u200dsecurity \u200dwas and will remain a \u201ckey priority\u201d for the EU, \u201cone in which we seek to work with allies and partners\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTerritorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. These principles \u200bare essential not \u200conly for the European Union, but for nations around the world,\u201d \u200cthey said \u200con \u2060X.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated France\u2019s backing for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Denmark and Greenland.<\/p>\n He said Greenland \u201cbelongs to its people\u201d and Denmark \u201cserves as its guarantor\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly emphasised that the Arctic\u2019s strategic geography \u2013 particularly Greenland\u2019s position between North America and Europe \u2013 is key to US defence and global security interests.<\/p>\n Its location, offering the shortest route from North America to Europe, would give Washington leverage for its military and its ballistic missile early-warning system.<\/p>\n The US is also interested in placing radars in the waters that connect Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. These waters are a gateway for Russian and Chinese ships, which the US wants to track.<\/p>\n The island also hosts the Pituffik Space Base, a major US military installation used for surveillance and missile warning operations.<\/p>\n Trump has denied that its mineral wealth is the real reason he is so interested in Greenland. However, it is rich in mineral resources critical for the production of modern technologies, including rare-earth elements for electronics and clean energy, as well as uranium, zinc and other base metals.<\/p>\n It also holds potential oil and gas deposits, though their extraction is restricted. Surveys indicate that Greenland contains a substantial share of the critical raw materials identified by the EU.<\/p>\n Several countries have become increasingly active in the Arctic in recent years.<\/p>\n Climate change and a rapidly melting ice sheet are the main reasons the Arctic has become a geopolitical hotspot.<\/p>\n The Arctic is heating at a rate four times faster than the global average, increasing its accessibility for maritime trade routes and resource exploration \u2013 including by non-Arctic countries as well as those with an Arctic presence.<\/p>\n China has deployed vessels capable of serving both military surveillance and research functions in the region. The purposes are to collect data and secure access to resources and shipping lanes, which are emerging as a result of melting ice.<\/p>\n Last year, Canada unveiled a 37-page security policy detailing plans to enhance its military and diplomatic presence in the Arctic, citing threats posed by increasing Russian and Chinese activity.<\/p>\n In recent years, Russia has expanded its naval presence, deploying missile systems and ramping up weapons testing in the Arctic.<\/p>\n Russian President Vladimir Putin has also noted Trump\u2019s interest in the region.<\/p>\n During an address at the International Arctic Forum in the Russian city of Murmansk, the largest city within the Arctic circle, earlier this year, Putin said he believed Trump was serious about taking Greenland and that the US would continue its efforts to acquire it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can look surprising only at first glance, and it would be wrong to believe that this is some sort of extravagant talk by the current US administration,\u201d said Putin, adding that he expects the US to continue to \u201csystematically advance its geostrategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic\u201d.<\/p>\n Putin also expressed concerns about Russia\u2019s neighbours, Finland and Sweden \u2013 both of which have borders inside the Arctic circle \u2013 joining NATO, the transatlantic military alliance between North America and Europe. Finland joined NATO in 2023, and Sweden joined in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernising military infrastructure,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n Jacobsen said if the US were to invade Greenland, it would mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).<\/p>\n Denmark and the US are founding members of NATO, a European and North American military alliance founded in 1949.<\/p>\n \u201cOn a personal level for Trump, it would also mean the end of any ambitions for getting a peace prize, which he has strived for so long,\u201d Jacobsen told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cAll his efforts to end the wars in Ukraine, Israel-Palestine and elsewhere would have no effect to this end.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacobsen added that there are still \u201creasonable people in the right positions\u201d who would pull the \u201chandbrake on such an unreasonable idea like invading Greenland\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI truly don\u2019t believe it will happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n President Donald Trump has said the United States needs Greenland for its \u201cnational security\u201d after naming Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to the Danish Arctic island, prompting protests from Copenhagen. \u201cWe need Greenland for national security, not for minerals,\u201d Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday, adding that Landry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Why is Trump saying Greenland is \u2018essential\u2019 to US national security?<\/h2>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE-Where](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/INTERACTIVE-Where-is-Greeland-1741684530.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80\")
<\/p>\nWhy has Trump sent an \u2018envoy\u2019 to Greenland \u2013 what does that signify?<\/h2>\n
How have Greenlanders responded to this latest move?<\/h2>\n
Why is Greenland strategic for the US?<\/h2>\n
What mineral resources does Greenland have?<\/h2>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE-Greenlands](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/INTERACTIVE-Greenlands-mineral-resources-MARCH9-20250D-1741681526.png?w=770&resize=770%2C962&quality=80\")
Which other countries are scrambling for positions in the Arctic and why?<\/h2>\n
Could the US take Greenland by force?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"