Danish PM ‘surprised’ as Trump calls off Greenland trip amid row

Denmark’s prime minister has said she is “disappointed and surprised” by Donald Trump’s decision to cancel a visit to Denmark after she called his idea of buying Greenland “an absurd discussion”.

The US president, who was scheduled to visit Denmark on September 2 and 3 as part of a European tour, tweeted his decision yesterday.

The cancellation stunned Danes and blindsided the Danish royal palace, with spokeswoman Lene Balleby telling the Associated Press it came as “a surprise” to the royal household, which had formally invited Mr Trump.

“Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time,” Mr Trump said.

The vast island of Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, has a population of 56,000 and has 80% of its land mass covered by a 660,000 square mile ice sheet.

The dispute over the world’s largest island is sparked by its strategic location in the Arctic, which due to global warming is becoming more accessible to possible potential oil and mineral resources. Nations including Russia, China, the US and Canada are racing to stake as strong a claim as they can to Arctic lands, hoping they will yield future riches.

At the same time, scientists point to the effects of climate change on the semi-autonomous Danish territory and say its massive ice sheet has seen one of its biggest melts on record this summer, contributing to a global rise in sea levels.

Picture: AP. President Donald Trump said he was postponing the meeting with the Danish PM due to the Greenland dispute.