Denmark Vows 'More Permanent' Military Presence On Greenland In Face Of Trump Takeover Threats
"Update(1145ET): The Greenland and Denmark delegations are at the White House where they are meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance. Denmark's defense minister is seeking to convince the Trump administration that a more robust joint NATO presence on the resource-rich, large island of Greenland is all that's needed - and not a full US takeover. By day's end we'll see whether Trump finds this very convincing.
POULSEN: 2026 GREENLAND MILITARY DRILL TO HAVE PERMANENT NATURE
DENMARK DEFENCE MINISTER SAYS WE WILL HAVE A MORE PERMANENT PRESENCE ON GREENLAND GOING FORWARD
SWEDEN PRIME MINISTER: SOME OFFICERS FROM THE SWEDISH ARMED FORCES ARRIVE IN GREENLAND TODAY
DENMARK, GREENLAND OFFICIALS MEET WITH VANCE AND RUBIO
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt are meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Hours ahead of the meeting, a report in NBC finally put a firm dollar figure to a potential purchase:
The United States could have to pay as much as $700 billion if it were to achieve President Donald Trump’s goal of buying Greenland, according to three people familiar with the cost estimate.
The estimate was generated by scholars and former U.S. officials as part of planning around Trump’s aspiration to acquire the 800,000-square-mile island as a strategic buffer in the Arctic against America’s top adversaries, these people said. It attaches a price tag of more than half the Defense Department’s annual budget to Trump’s national security priority, which has stoked anxiety across Europe and on Capitol Hill amid his rhetoric about seizing Greenland since he ordered a U.S. military raid to capture Venezuela’s president and his wife.
As Polymarket has noted, Trump's offer to acquire Greenland - if this proves an accurate figure - would higher than the entire GDP of Denmark.
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President Trump said early Wednesday on Truth Social that anything less than full American control of Greenland would be "unacceptable" - and even cited its necessity in erecting the new Golden Dome missile defense system.
"The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" Trump wrote.
The statement was issued just ahead of Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's meeting with officials from the large far northern island and NATO member Denmark at the White House.
"Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent – Not even close! They know that, and so do I," Trump continued.
"NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” he asserted, adding that "anything less than that is unacceptable."
Trump has repeatedly unsettled the EU and NATO of late by declining to rule out the use of force to take control of the strategically important, resource-rich island. Because Denmark is a member of both organizations, the territory benefits from many of their collective security guarantees.
Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and Greenland's foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, originally outright rejected talks with Rubio. However, the meeting is now be held in Washington after Vance asked to participate and subsequently offered to host the discussions. So now they will face down Vance.
Greenland and Denmark have consistently made clear that the territory is not for sale, accusing the United States of applying "unacceptable pressure" on a long-standing ally. They also point out that a 1951 bilateral agreement already permits the US to significantly expand its military presence on the island.
EU leaders have quickly come forward to voice their support for Denmark, reaffirming their commitment to its territorial integrity and the principle of self-determination. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the island "belongs to its people".
But what if the people want to take a buyout offer from the United States? Giving each citizen a huge single cash sum is actually among the more creative ideas which have been floated.
The figure of one million dollars has been something in media reports, for example, and we can imagine there are many Greenlanders that would take it.
In follow-up on Wednesday, Trump issued a second Greenland Truth Social statement, this time highlighting that even Danish intelligence last year warned of the increased threat of Russian and Chinese military presence in the Arctic. The Europeans have suddenly been downplaying this, rejecting it as a rationale for a greater US military presence.
And NATO leadership too:
NATO chief Mark Rutte has said that Greenland’s security is “non-negotiable.”
He says that all allies agree on the importance of security in the Arctic and has warned that there must be diligence from NATO towards Chinese and Russian activity in the region.
Denmark and the Europeans have pushed back against his earlier assertions like the following: "We need that because if you take a look outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese destroyers and, bigger, there are Russian submarines all over the place. We’re not gonna have Russia or China occupy Greenland, and that’s what they’re going to do if we don’t," Trump has said before.
The 'fact checkers' have been quick to push back, for example in this fresh Associated Press article: "Experts have repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s claims of Chinese and Russian military forces lurking off Greenland’s coastline. Experts say Russia instead operates in the Barents Sea, off the Scandinavian coast, and both China and Russia have a presence in the Bering Sea south of Alaska."
But then there's this highly interesting thread...
The White House gathering will likely see Denmark try and push for a joint NATO mission for Greenland, of which US forces are a key part, in hopes of satisfying Trump enough to get him to halt his big push for a Greenland takeover. Today's talks are expected to begin at 10:30am ET."
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Where do people live in Greenland?
via zer0hedge
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