Trump Cancels Denmark Visit After Learning Greenland Is Not For Sale
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will not visit Denmark next month, after the Danish prime minister rebuffed his proposal to buy Greenland.
Trump announced his decision by tweet after the Danish Prime
Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed the notion of selling the semi-autonomous
territory to the U.S. as “an absurd discussion.”
“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,” Trump
said.
The decision caught Denmark’s royal palace by
“surprise.” Lene Balleby, a spokeswoman for the palace told The
Associated Press the household, which formally had invited Trump to visit
Denmark Sep. 2 and 3 as part of a European trip, had no further comments.
Prime Minister Frederiksen said during a meeting with
reporters that she too was surprised and disappointed by the president’s
decision.
Frederiksen told reporters that “the United States is
one of our closest allies” and “the invitation for a stronger
strategic cooperation with the Americans in the Arctic is still open.”
But she also said she is standing by the government head of
Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory that U.S. President Donald
Trump wanted to buy.
Frederiksen said “a discussion about a potential sale
of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland Premier
Kim Kielsen, and I fully stand behind that rejection.”
Frederiksen also said relations between Copenhagen and
Washington “are not in any crisis in my opinion.”
“I don’t believe that the cancellation should have any
influence on other matters,” she said.
Trump had said Sunday that he was interested in buying
Greenland for strategic purposes, but said a purchase was not a priority at
this time. Both Frederiksen and Kielsen responded that Greenland is not for
sale.
“The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of
expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so
direct,” Trump said. “I thank her for that and look forward to
rescheduling sometime in the future!”
Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. A
1.7-million-square-kilometer ice sheet
covers 80 percent of the island. While retreating ice could uncover a wealth of
oil and mineral resources, that’s still a matter of speculation.
To date no oil has been found in the waters off Greenland
and conditions, particularly in the winter, when temperatures regularly
dropping below minus 30 Celsius (minus 20 Fahrenheit), make looking for it
extremely difficult.
We're proud to make our journalism accessible to everyone, but producing high-quality journalism comes at a cost. That's why we need your help. By making a contribution today, you'll be supporting TWN and ensuring that we can keep providing our journalism for free to the public.
Donate now and help us continue to publish TWN’s distinctive journalism. Thank you for your support!
