Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Photo / Jonathan Nackstrand, AFP
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Photo / Jonathan Nackstrand, AFP
Greenland’s Prime Minister said the Arctic island’s population and its authorities need to start preparing for a possible military invasion, even as it remains an unlikely scenario, as US President Donald Trump continues to threaten to take over the territory.
“It’s not likely there will be a military conflict, butit can’t be ruled out,” Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference in capital Nuuk.
Greenland’s government will form a task force consisting of representatives of all relevant local authorities to help people prepare for any disruptions to daily life, Nielsen said. The government is working on distributing new guidelines to the population, including a recommendation to have enough food for five days stored in their homes.
Trump has said the US needs to own Greenland for security reasons and has posted an AI-generated image of himself planting a US flag on the island. Greenland, with a population of 57,000, is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but has its own government overseeing most aspects of life bar defence and foreign policy. Denmark has in recent days deployed more troops in Greenland to boost Arctic defence.
Greenland is under “a lot of pressure” and “we need to be ready for all scenarios,” Mute B Egede, the island’s Minister of Finance and former leader, said at the same news conference.
In a move to shore up security of the territory, Denmark and seven other Nato countries last week deployed a handful of officers on the island as part of the Operation Arctic Endurance. Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command will now expand the military exercises to potentially run year-round, a Greenlandic newspaper reported.
The US President has threatened to impose new tariffs from February 1 on the eight Nato allies that are sending military personnel, escalating tensions between Washington and Europe. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned Europe would have to respond if the tariffs are implemented and that there could be “major consequences” on both sides of the Atlantic.
“If a trade war is launched against us, which I cannot recommend, then we must of course respond. We would be forced to do so,” she said during a question and answer session in the Danish parliament. “I hope we do not get to that point. I hope that we succeed in convincing the Americans that this is not the path we should take.”
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