Donald Trump calls off meeting with Danish prime minister over Greenland comments
Reuters
Published:
August 20, 2019
Updated:
August 20, 2019 9:29 PM EDT
This combination of pictures shows Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump.Tobias Schwarz / Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Images / Files
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday called off a visit to Denmark scheduled for early September after the country’s prime minister rebuffed his idea of purchasing Greenland.
“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 in a post on Twitter.
“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. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!”
….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. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
A White House official said Trump had dropped the Sept. 2-3 stop in Denmark, a NATO ally. Trump had been due to discuss the Arctic in meetings in Copenhagen with Frederiksen, who took office in June, and Prime Minister Kim Kielsen of Greenland.
He is due to visit Poland on Aug. 31.
Frederiksen said on Sunday the idea of selling Greenland to the United States was absurd after an economic adviser to Trump confirmed U.S. interest in buying the world’s largest island.
“Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously,” Frederiksen told the newspaper Sermitsiaq during a visit to Greenland.
Danish PM says Trump’s idea of selling Greenland to U.S. is ‘absurd’
Greenland tells Donald Trump it is open for business but not for sale
Trump confirmed to reporters on Sunday that he had recently discussed the possibility of buying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, although he said such a move was not an immediate priority.
“The concept came up and … strategically it’s interesting,” Trump told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey.
A defence treaty between Denmark and the United States dating back to 1951 gives the U.S. military rights over the Thule Air Base in northern Greenland.
Trump’s interest in buying Greenland has been met with incredulity and humour. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who recently stepped down as Danish prime minister, tweeted last week: “It must be an April Fool’s Day joke.”
It must be an April Fool’s Day joke … but totally out of sesson!
https://t.co/ev5DDVZc5f
— Lars Løkke Rasmussen (@larsloekke) August 15, 2019
On Monday, Trump retweeted an image of a golden Trump tower looming over a cluster of houses on the Arctic island, and wrote: “I promise not to do this to Greenland!”
I promise not to do this to Greenland! pic.twitter.com/03DdyVU6HA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
http://torontosun.com/news/world/do...danish-prime-minister-over-greenland-comments