Wednesday, July 8th 2026 - 07:05 UTC
Trump also suggested he could remove all US soldiers from Europe
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reaffirmed on Wednesday that Greenland is “not for sale” and that her country is ready to defend “every inch” of its territory, after US President Donald Trump insisted that the Arctic territory should be under the control of the United States rather than Denmark.
Frederiksen spoke to reporters at the NATO summit being held in Ankara. “Our position is clear as it has been all through. Greenland is, of course, not for sale,” she said, adding that all allies should respect Danish sovereignty and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination. Asked whether Denmark was prepared to defend the territory militarily in the event of an attack, she replied that her country was ready to defend “every inch” of NATO, including its own territory. She noted that Greenland, the Arctic and the High North were not on the summit agenda.
Her remarks responded to comments Trump had made the previous day in Ankara, during a press conference alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” the president said of Greenland. He argued that the dispute had harmed Washington's relationship with NATO and that the territory was strategically important for the United States given the presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the area. Trump also suggested he could remove all US soldiers from Europe.
