United States President Donald Trump said that the US “must” take Greenland before China and Russia seize the strategically-important island.
On Friday, during a meeting with oil company executives, Trump categorically said the US is “going to do it, either the soft way or the hard way”.
“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” adding that if they don’t do it, Russia or China will.
“If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour,” the President said.
While offering the island’s government a “deal” to seize the country “the easy way”, Trump did not rule out the possibility of using military force to take control of Greenland and its population of nearly 57,000.
“I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said.
The US President’s threats have triggered panic among residents of the self-governing island, as well as Denmark and NATO members collectively, especially after more members of Trump’s administration voiced the possible use of military force to take over the island.
Denmark strongly reacted to Trump’s demand, saying any military action would mean the end of the NATO alliance.
On Friday, the five main parties of the semi-independent island issued a joint statement denouncing Trump’s threats, saying they’re “not for sale”.
“We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” a joint statement by the parties said.
Other European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK and Denmark, also issued a joint statement on Tuesday, saying only Greenland and Denmark have the right to decide what’s best for their future.
This is not the first time that Trump has demanded control of Greenland, having previously expressed a desire to “buy” the island from Denmark because it is more likely to “pose a security challenge to Washington”.
However, Trump’s intent seems to have been reinforced after the forceful capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife last week by US armed forces.
