Europe07 July, 20263 min read
Donald Trump Pressures NATO Over Greenland, Saying U.S. Should Control It Not Denmark
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Trump says the United States should control Greenland, not Denmark, at NATO summit. NATO announced billions in arms deals while Trump pressed the Greenland demand.
Greenland claim sparks rift
President Donald Trump told reporters in Ankara that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” renewing tensions in Europe as NATO leaders gathered for a summit in Turkey.
The dispute was framed as a challenge to NATO’s founding principle that its 32 members will defend one another’s territory and not threaten to seize it, while the alliance tried to respond to Trump’s complaints about European defense spending.
In the same Ankara setting, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected allies to respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom and accept that Greenland was not for sale, adding, “It is a well-known position of the United States that it wants to own and take over Greenland.”
Greenland’s Foreign Minister Mute Egede said on Facebook that Greenland’s future should be decided by its people, writing, “That's how it has always been. And that's how it always will be,” as the issue moved to a diplomatic track.
As the summit unfolded, NATO also unveiled plans for military projects worth billions of dollars, with Mark Rutte describing the investment as “money well spent” at a forum billed as NATO’s “big reveal.”
EU and Denmark push back
Danish Foreign Minister Mute Egede’s insistence that Greenland’s future should be decided by its people was echoed by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s rejection of any sale, as she said, “this is not going to happen,” in comments to reporters in Ankara.
In response to Trump’s Greenland demand, the European Union warned that any move on the island could jeopardize trade relations, with France’s Minister of the Economy Roland Lescure saying, “Greenland is part of a sovereign country that belongs to the European Union.”
Trump replied by floating tariffs, saying, “I could impose tariffs on countries that do not agree with this. Those that do not support it.”
The dispute also fed into NATO’s internal balancing act, with the alliance’s secretary-general Mark Rutte working to address Trump’s long-standing complaint that European allies do not spend enough on their own defense.
At the same time, the NATO summit’s arms-deals showcase included a deal for Saab to supply up to 10 new GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for a 10-nation consortium, as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, “It’s a moment of great pride.”
What’s at stake next
The Greenland standoff was tied to broader questions of European security commitments, with the NATO alliance founded on the principle that its members will defend each others’ territory and not threaten to seize it, even as Trump renewed his demand for U.S. control.
The Associated Press described NATO’s “big reveal” as an attempt to appease Trump, with NATO showcasing military projects worth billions of dollars while European countries and Mark Rutte worked to address the defense-spending dispute.
In parallel, the EU’s tariff threat was presented as a lever, with Slate.fr saying the European Union agreed to impose 93 billion euros in tariffs on the United States if Trump carried out his threat against the countries that sent soldiers to Greenland.
The political and diplomatic pressure was also reflected in the scheduled meeting at the White House, where the European side included Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Across the alliance, NATO’s arms-deals push and the Greenland argument were unfolding together in Ankara, with Trump insisting the U.S. should control Greenland while NATO rolled out new aircraft and drones to demonstrate firepower at the summit.