Greenland is not for sale, leaders tell Trump
The US president, who will travel to Copenhagen next month, has his eyes set on its island territory
GREENLAND has declared itself “not for sale” after Donald Trump floated the idea of buying the massive glaciercovered island as part of his strategy to counter China and Russia.
The Pentagon regards Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory, as valuable to US national security interests and a potential location for a greater military presence.
Greenland is home to the Thule Air Base, the most northern US military facility, which is part of the American early warning system for incoming ballistic missiles.
The base, which is 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle in north-west Greenland, has 600 US personnel.
Last year the US succeeded in preventing China from establishing several airports in Greenland.
The island is rich in natural resources including oil, coal, diamonds, gold, iron ore, zinc, uranium and rare earth elements.
Much of that is under the ice, which covers 80 per cent of Greenland, but given the increasing rate of melting the resources could become accessible in future. Two of Greenland’s largest ice melts to date were recorded by Nasa this summer.
Another reason for Mr Trump’s interest in the territory is his legacy. Acquiring Greenland would be a substantial presidential achievement.
Mr Trump is due to visit Denmark next month. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, had been scheduled to visit Greenland in May, but cancelled after tensions with Iran flared up.
At the time Mr Pompeo accused China and Russia of aggressive activity in the Arctic. “We’re entering a new age of strategic engagement in the Arctic, complete with new threats to the Arctic and its real estate, and to all of our interests in the region,” he said.
Greenland, which covers more than 800,000 square miles, is officially the world’s largest island. Australia is bigger, but is classed as a continent.
The territory is part of the Danish realm and its head of state is Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark. Greenland has its own parliament and conducts its own domestic affairs, while foreign policy and defence are handled in Copenhagen. Denmark provides an annual subsidy of $591million (£490million), more than 60 per cent of the island’s annual budget. Only 56,000 people live in Greenland, almost 90 per cent of them Greenlandic Inuit. Nuuk, the capital, has a population of 18,000.
The US tried to buy Greenland from Denmark in 1946, when Harry Truman was president, for $100 million in gold. It was seen as a strategically valuable place to locate bombers, given the relative proximity to the Soviet Union. In 1867 the US administration of Andrew Johnson had looked into buying the island, having concluded that it was a great source of fish. The same year the US bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2million. Mr Trump is believed to have first discussed the idea of buying Greenland at an Oval Office meeting more than a year ago, and to have asked officials to look into the feasibility of a purchase.
White House advisers and friends of the president have been divided about whether he is serious about the idea. Some have said he was joking.
However, Michael Gallagher, a Republican congressman, said: “This idea isn’t as crazy as the headline makes it seem. This a smart geopolitical move. The United States has a compelling strategic interest in Greenland, and this should absolutely be on the table.”
Politicians in Greenland and Denmark were also unsure whether Mr Trump was serious about the proposal, but reacted with uniform opposition.
Kim Kielsen, Greenland’s premier, said: “Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold.” Politicians in Denmark called the idea “mad” and “ridiculous”.
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, an MP for the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, which supports independence for Greenland, told The Daily Telegraph: “It’s a ‘No, thank you’. I think that would be the reaction from the majority in Greenland.”
Denmark has sold territory to the US before. In 1917 it earnt $25 million when the Danish West Indies became the US Virgin Islands.
But Martin Lidegaard, a former Danish foreign minister, said: “You can’t just sell Greenland like an old colonial power. What we can take seriously is that the US stake, and interest in, the Arctic is significantly on the rise and they want a much bigger influence.”
Greenland’s government said: “We have a good co-operation with USA, and we see this as an expression of greater interest in investing in our country, and the possibilities we offer. Of course, Greenland is not for sale.”
Jakob Ipsen, a hotel owner in Greenland, said: “They tried in 1867 without luck. They tried after the Second World War. It didn’t happen then, and it’s not going to happen now.”