Trump says Greenland's defense is just 'two dog sleds'
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Greenland should agree to a deal with the United States, because its defense consists of just “two dog sleds," US President Donald Trump said at a briefing.
"Greenland should make the deal (with the US - ed.) because Greenland does not want to see Russia or China take over. Basically, their defense is two dog sleds,” Trump said.
He also emphasized that if the United States does not take control of Greenland, then Russia or China inevitably will.
“And I'm not letting that happen,” the US president added.
Background
Earlier, Trump did not rule out the possibility of Greenland “returning” to the United States, even at the cost of NATO’s collapse. The American president believes the Alliance is largely ineffective without the leading role of the United States.
Denmark reacted sharply to such claims from the United States. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called on Trump to stop threatening Greenland and to respect the sovereignty of the kingdom. In Greenland, representatives of all five political parties stated that the Greenlandic people do not want to be Americans.
Against this backdrop, Britain has begun talks with European allies about the possible deployment of military forces in Greenland to strengthen security in the Arctic and to ease the concerns of US President Donald Trump.
Germany may propose creating a joint NATO mission with the official aim of monitoring and protecting the Alliance’s security interests in the Arctic region. In reality, however, the main task of the new mission would be the protection of Greenland.
