Trump Tells Erdoğan U.S. Should Control Greenland, Rejecting Denmark at NATO Summit in Ankara

President Donald Trump renewed his call for the United States to control Greenland, saying "That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark" during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara as NATO leaders gathered for a summit.

Trump tied the Greenland dispute to his relationship with the alliance, saying "That's what hurt my relationship with NATO" because Greenland "doesn't help Denmark" and Denmark "doesn't spend money to really help Greenland."

Al Jazeera

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded that she expected allies to respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom and accept that Greenland was not for sale, saying "this is not going to happen," and that there were no plans to discuss Greenland issues in Ankara.

The dispute was framed as part of broader friction at the NATO summit, where Trump also criticized European NATO members for not supporting the U.S. war in Iran, saying "We didn't need any help at all, and in a way I was testing people."

Trump also threatened to remove U.S. soldiers from Europe over the continent's opposition to his Greenland push, saying "We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe" and warning "They better be careful with immigration and energy."

USA Today reported that the U.S. has about 68,000 active-duty military personnel stationed in European countries, and it said Trump had previously ruled out military action to acquire Greenland and pulled back threats to impose tariffs on European allies.

Al Jazeera

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark has no plans to discuss Arctic or Greenland issues in Ankara, adding "Denmark has no plans to discuss Arctic or Greenland issues in Ankara."

In the U.S. political response, Time reported that Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said he believes the two countries have reached a point where the jets can be supplied without compromising U.S. security, saying "I trust that we've reached a point where we can deal with Turkey on the F-35s, and do it with confidence."

Alongside the Greenland remarks, Trump renewed criticism of European NATO members for not supporting the U.S. war in Iran, telling reporters "Italy turned us down. And Germany turned us down. And France turned us down."

“The NATO summit in Turkey opened under heavy political tension”

Allora! Italian Australian News

PBS said Trump insisted the United States should be in control of Greenland rather than Denmark, while the NATO summit also featured announcements of arms deals and surveillance projects intended to address European defense concerns.

PBS reported that Swedish manufacturer Saab will supply up to 10 new GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for a 10-nation consortium, and it said a deal to replace aging NATO surveillance planes was announced Tuesday.

The same summit setting also included Trump’s renewed pressure on Turkey’s F-35 access, with PBS reporting that Trump said the possibility of selling F-35s to Turkey is "something certainly we'd consider" and that "We're going to be taking the sanctions off" as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth work on the issue.