President-elect Donald Trump is once more floating his curiosity in U.S. possession of Greenland, prompting the chief of the island territory to make clear that it isn’t on the market.
Trump on Sunday, in asserting his collection of PayPal co-founder Ken Howery to function his ambassador to Denmark, wrote that American possession of the island was an “absolute necessity.”
“For functions of Nationwide Safety and Freedom all through the World, the US of America feels that the possession and management of Greenland is an absolute necessity. Ken will do an exquisite job in representing the pursuits of the US,” Trump wrote in an announcement.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede flatly rejected the concept, posting a assertion on Fb, that based on translation says: “Greenland is ours We aren’t on the market and can by no means be on the market. We should not lose our year-long wrestle for freedom. Nevertheless, we should proceed to be open to cooperation and commerce with the entire world, particularly with our neighbours.”
Trump equally expressed an curiosity in attempting to buy Greenland throughout his first administration.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks through the AmericaFest 2024 convention in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 22, 2024.
Rick Scuteri/AP
Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, which has sovereignty over the self-governing island, on the time pushed again that the concept was “absurd.”
Frederiksen was reelected in 2022. The Danish prime minister’s workplace, in an announcement to ABC Information, mentioned the “Danish Authorities is wanting ahead to welcoming the brand new American ambassador. And the Authorities is wanting ahead to working with the brand new administration.”
“In a posh safety political state of affairs because the one we at present expertise, transatlantic cooperation is essential,” the workplace mentioned. “So far as statements about Greenland, the Prime Minister’s Workplace has no feedback aside from reference to what was said by the Premier of Greenland about Greenland not being on the market, however open for cooperation.”
The primary Trump administration gave Greenland $12 million for financial growth, a part of which was to assist develop power and pure assets. The U.S. additionally opened a consulate in Greenland for the primary time in a long time throughout Trump’s earlier presidency.
The U.S. additionally operates Pituffik House Base, the Protection Division’s northernmost base, on Greenland’s coast.
Greenland is wealthy in worthwhile minerals, together with uncommon earth metals, valuable metals, valuable stones, coal, graphite, and uranium, however its geography and local weather makes commercially viable mining difficult, based on the U.S. Division of Commerce’s Worldwide Commerce Affiliation. Its uncommon earth assets would rank within the high 5 worldwide if developed, the ITA reported.
Earlier Trump administration officers pointed to Greenland, the world’s largest island, as a key curiosity as China and Russia ramped up exercise within the Arctic.
Howery, who beforehand served as U.S. ambassador to Sweden through the first Trump administration, mentioned he was “humbled” by Trump tapping him to be the highest U.S. diplomat in Greenland.
“Representing our nice nation overseas is a profound accountability. I do know first-hand the ability of diplomacy to advance American pursuits and strengthen alliances, and I’m grateful for the chance to return to Europe to advertise the President’s agenda,” Howery mentioned in a assertion posted to social media.
Howery’s assertion didn’t handle Trump’s suggestion that American possession of Greenland was an “absolute necessity.”
“I look ahead to working with the devoted groups at U.S. Embassy Copenhagen and U.S. Consulate Nuuk in Greenland to deepen the bonds between our international locations,” Howery mentioned.
