Donald Trump insists Greenland is vital for US security despite firm opposition from Denmark and Greenland. Photo / Getty Images
Buying Greenland could cost the United States as much as US$700 billion ($1.2 trillion), officials have estimated, as Donald Trump presses on with his efforts to acquire the Arctic island.
Denmark and Greenland insist the semi-autonomous Danish territory is not for sale, but the US President has insisted he will take it “one way or the other” for national security reasons.
A meeting between American, Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington on Wednesday failed to resolve the “fundamental disagreement” over the mineral-rich island.
Academics and former US officials were asked to estimate costs as part of planning for a takeover of the 2.1 million square-kilometre island, which has sought-after rare-earth minerals and is strategically positioned in the far north.
The sum of $700b is equivalent to more than half the US Defence Department’s annual budget.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters: “I’d love to make a deal with them. It’s easier. But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
Trump has warned that Greenland is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place”. He said it was “vital” for it to be taken under US control.
But speaking to the Telegraph, Pal Jonson, the Swedish Defence Minister, said the claims were exaggerated.
“If you state that Greenland is flooded with Russian and Chinese vessels, that’s an exaggeration according to the assessments that we do for the region,” he said.
Jonson said that while there had been an increase in Chinese research vessels sailing into the Arctic region, the scope of that was “limited”.
In any case, European military staff were set to begin arriving in Greenland on Thursday as part of an effort to convince Trump that Nato allies could handle security in the strategically vital and contested Arctic.
France, Sweden, Germany and Norway announced that they would deploy troops as part of a reconnaissance mission to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. Britain is sending one military officer.
“Soldiers of Nato are expected to be more present in Greenland from today and in the coming days. It is expected that there will be more military flights and ships,” said Mute Egede, Greenland’s Deputy Prime Minister, adding they would be “training”.
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, convened an emergency defence Cabinet in Paris on Thursday to discuss the territory.
“The first French military personnel are already on their way. Others will follow,” he said on X.
The German Defence Ministry said the deployment of a 13-strong Bundeswehr reconnaissance team to Nuuk from Thursday was at Denmark’s invitation.
Yvette Cooper, UK Foreign Secretary, pledged to step up Arctic security during her tour of Scandinavia.
“Arctic security is a critical transatlantic partnership issue for the security of Britain and Nato,” she said.
“Coming together as an alliance allows us to unify and tackle this emerging threat.”
Late on Wednesday, a Danish Air Force plane landed at Nuuk airport and soldiers in military fatigues disembarked, footage showed. The Danish military will support the preparation of plans to strengthen Arctic security.
Asked about troops from Europe being moved to the territory, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, said it would not affect his decision-making.
“I don’t think troops in Europe impact the President’s decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all,” she said.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, and JD Vance, the Vice-President, held talks with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on the day the troop deployment was announced.
Speaking after leaving the White House, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Danish Foreign Minister, said a US takeover of Greenland was “absolutely not necessary”.
“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the President has this wish of conquering Greenland,” he told reporters.
“We therefore still have a fundamental disagreement, but we also agree to disagree.”
He added: “It is not a true narrative that we have Chinese warships all around the place.”
“I have a very good relationship with Denmark, and we’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out,” Trump said after the meeting, which he did not attend.
“Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
“And the problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela.”
Trump has appeared emboldened on Greenland after ordering the January 3 attack in Venezuela that removed Nicolas Maduro, the country’s President.
Greenland has the right to declare independence one day, but its leaders have been stressing unity with the Kingdom of Denmark in the face of the diplomatic crisis.
“It’s not the time to gamble with our right to self-determination, when another country is talking about taking us over,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the Prime Minister, said on Wednesday.
“That doesn’t mean that we don’t want something in the future. But here and now we are part of the kingdom and we stand with the kingdom,” he said.
On the streets of Nuuk, red and white Greenlandic flags flew in shop windows, on apartment balconies, and on cars and buses, in a show of national unity this week.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found just 17% of Americans approved of Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland, and substantial majorities of Democrats and Republicans opposed using military force to annex the island.
Some 47% of respondents disapproved of US efforts to acquire Greenland, while 35% said they were unsure.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.