Donald Trump has signalled his intention to take Greenland from Denmark, signalling a possible reassessment of US priorities towards a more flexible ‘continental’ strategy, columnist Thomas Fazi writes for UK publication UnHerd.
The portal recalled that even before the inauguration, Donald Trump made statements about attempts to take the Danish autonomous territory under control.
‘In fact, no one even knows if Denmark has legal rights to it, but even if it does, it should give them up, because we need Greenland for national security,’ Donald Trump said (quoted by INOSMI).
Donald Trump Jr. recently visited the Greenland territory with new White House Human Resources Director Sergio Gore, where they handed out caps that read ‘Let’s bring Greenland back to its former glory.’
‘Don Jr. and my representatives landed in Greenland. The reception was magnificent. They and the rest of the free world need safety, security, strength and PEACE! This deal just has to happen. Let’s return America and Greenland to their former greatness!’ – wrote Donald Trump in social networks.
The piece notes that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised Trump’s proposal, specifying that ‘Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders’. However, Greenland’s Prime Minister Muthe Egede does not fully share such sentiments.
‘It is time for our country to take the next step. Like other countries in the world, we must remove the obstacles to co-operation – and here we are right to talk about the shackles of the colonial era – and move on,’ the author of the article quotes him as saying.
Donald Trump first talked about Greenland in this vein back in 2019, the columnist notes. Greenland is rich in rare earth minerals and undiscovered oil and gas reserves, and the melting ice is opening up sea routes that could reduce the distance between Asia and Europe by 40 per cent.
The Northern Sea Route has been an important part in the creation of Moscow’s new energy strategy. Ports, terminals and an icebreaker fleet have been established, as well as a denser military presence, the article said. At the same time, China also declared itself a ‘sub-Arctic state’ in 2018, firmly establishing itself in the polar regions.
According to the author, Trump’s reports of Greenland joining the United States are merely an attempt to shift the focus away from the unfolding conflict in the Arctic between the United States and an alliance in the form of China and Russia. Relations between these countries depend on the trajectory of the conflict in Ukraine, the columnist noted.
Thomas Fasi writes about ‘the only part of the world unprepared for the rapid development of events’ – Europe. In his opinion, it becomes obvious that the US ‘disregard for the sovereignty and prosperity’ of Europe, while Europe continues to hope for the settlement of transatlantic relations.
We shall remind you that The New York Times reported earlier that some Republicans in the US Congress, who recently actively favoured assistance to Ukraine, changed their position after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
