American Vice President JD Vance in Jerusalem. Photo: Marc Israel Sellem / UPI / Profimedia
American Vice President JD Vance on Thursday “advised” European leaders “to take the president of the United States seriously” regarding Greenland, the territory that Donald Trump wants to acquire, reports AFP.
“My advice to European leaders and anyone else would be to take the president of the United States seriously,” JD Vance said in a White House press conference.
“What we are asking our European friends is to take seriously the security of this territory, because now they are not doing that. The United States will have to do something,” he added.
Trump, who has long wanted to acquire Greenland for the island's mineral resources, has created tensions with NATO member states, not ruling out the possibility of taking the territory by force. But Greenland, being an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, is considered part of NATO.
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White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that President Trump remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but that he is “actively exploring” with his team the possibility of the US buying Greenland.
“All options are always on the table for President Trump as he evaluates what is best for US interests,” Leavitt told reporters during a White House press briefing. “I want to emphasize that the president's first option has always been diplomacy,” the spokeswoman added.
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Leavitt also said the acquisition of Greenland would give the United States greater control over the Arctic region and the ability to counter aggression in a strategic area.
“The president has been very open and clear with all of you and the world: He believes it is in the United States' interest to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region, and so his team is currently discussing what a potential acquisition would look like,” she said.
The acquisition of the island “is something that the president and his national security team are actively discussing,” Leavitt added.
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Status of Greenland
Greenland has been part of Denmark for over 600 years, and currently has the status of a semi-sovereign territory. This vast island, but with only about 56,000 inhabitants, has an economy dependent on fishing and is heavily funded by the government in Copenhagen to the tune of about one billion dollars a year, equivalent to about half of its budget, although it has large natural resources, including oil and natural gas.
After the Second World War, the then American president, Harry Truman, also tried to buy Greenland with a hundred million dollars paid in gold, considering it a territory of great strategic importance in the context of the Cold War that had just begun, but the Danish government refused the offer.
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With its Pituffik airbase, Greenland is important to the US and the American ballistic missile early warning system, as the shortest route between Europe and North America passes through this island.
Washington has expressed interest in expanding its military presence there, including by deploying radars to monitor the Atlantic waters where Russian warships and nuclear submarines enter.
Also Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would meet with Danish officials next week to discuss Greenland, without giving further details.
Denmark has so far categorically rejected the idea of ceding Greenland to the US in any way.
Several of Denmark's European allies, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement on Tuesday affirming their support for Denmark and describing Arctic security as “a priority” for Europe.
