The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has reiterated that Greenland "is not for sale" and has stressed that her country is prepared to "defend every inch of NATO," after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, insisted that the Arctic island belongs to Washington.
In brief statements to the media before the start of the second day of the Atlantic Alliance summit being held in Ankara, the head of government of Denmark pointed out that the United States' position "is very clear," but stressed that Copenhagen's is equally "as clear as it has always been": "Greenland, of course, is not for sale."
Frederiksen stressed that "we expect everyone, including all allies, to respect the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination, and we are a sovereign state and we need everyone to respect our territorial integrity and our sovereignty," before going on to emphasize that Denmark is willing "to defend every inch of NATO," Greenland included.
The Danish leader explained that one of NATO's foundational reasons is "that if something happens to one of us, we must all support each other." "In other words, Article 5 is our insurance. It applies to the eastern flank right now, with the hybrid war coming from Russia. It applies to the United States when it was attacked on 9/11. And the same applies to Greenland," she stated.
When asked if Denmark would be willing to defend the Arctic island even against a potential attack from an Alliance partner like the United States, the Prime Minister replied that "of course" it would protect "the Kingdom of Denmark," although she acknowledged that it could not safeguard its population "without NATO."
In any case, she warned that "the same applies to the United States," because it is "thanks to NATO" that their societies, "on both sides of the Atlantic, can be safe." "And that will continue to be the case in the future," she concluded.
Frederiksen's words come a day after Trump once again insisted on his claim to annex Greenland, arguing that the island "is surrounded by Chinese ships and Russian ships," and that Denmark does not pay enough attention to it."
"Greenland is very important to the United States. It is surrounded by Chinese ships and Russian ships. Greenland was, and still is, something that should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark," declared the US leader at a press conference upon his arrival in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, host since Tuesday of a NATO summit.