Greenland
- Thread starter Tecumsehsbones
- Start date
International law applies to everyone, including US, says German finance minister — Reuters
The principles of international law apply to everyone, including the United States, German Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said on Sunday, in reference to President Donald Trump's threats to seize Greenland.
Germany urges respect for Greenland’s sovereignty amid Trump threats — The Jerusalem Post
"It is solely up to Denmark and Greenland to decide about Greenland's future. Territorial sovereignty and integrity must be respected," Klingbeil said.
A US military seizure of the mineral-rich Arctic island from Denmark, a long-time ally, would send shockwaves through NATO and deepen the divide between Trump and European leaders. 'We increase security in the Arctic together as NATO allies, not in opposition to one another,' Klingbeil said.
Monday's G7 meeting will focus on access to critical minerals as Western countries seek to reduce their dependence on China, given moves by Beijing to impose strict export controls on rare earths.
Trump declared last week that the only constraint on his power is “my own morality, my own mind”. That explains a lot. His idea of right and wrong is wholly subjective. He is his own ethical and legal adviser, his own priest and confessor. He is a church of one. Trump lies to himself as well as everyone else. And the resulting damage is pernicious. It costs lives, harms democracy and destroys trust between nations.
He falsely claims, for example, that Chinese and Russian warships are “all over the place” in Greenland, necessitating a US takeover. Ahoy there! What ships? asks Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen – who, unlike Washington’s empire-builder, has first-hand knowledge of the self-governing island. Greenlanders dismiss Trump’s comments as nonsense.
Denmark points out it spends billions in Greenland and that a supposed flood of Chinese investment is another White House whopper. Polls show Greenlanders oppose annexation or sale to Trump. They prefer independence, which the US, celebrating 250 years since it rusticated King George III, might be expected to understand.
Trump says he wants to secure Greenland. In truth, he wants to secure its mineral riches – and make America bigger again.Opinion | What unites Greenland, Venezuela and Ukraine? Trump’s immoral lies and Europe’s chronic weakness — Guardian US
The president’s inability to tell right from wrong fuels his increasingly dictatorial, illegal and erratic behaviour, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall
Donald Trump’s echoing of Russia’s talking points in its war against Ukraine has long been a cause for alarm and dismay in the west. Now an even more disturbing Kremlin precedent dating from the cold war is being evoked by the US president’s fixation on taking over Greenland – that of carrying out attacks on military allies.
The Soviet Union invaded its allied communist partners twice as it engaged in a long ideological and military standoff with the capitalist west, and openly asserted the right to intervene in the affairs of other allies if they deviated from policies dictated by Moscow.
Trump’s repeated assertion that the US “needs” Greenland for national security purposes and his refusal to rule out acquiring it by military force has set Washington on a collision course with Denmark, a Nato ally that has sovereignty over the autonomous, self-governing territory. Trump has said “it may be a choice” between taking control of Greenland and keeping NATO intact.
Trump’s Greenland threats echo dark moments of cold war alliances — Guardian US
Soviet invasions of allies helped destroy the Warsaw Pact – Trump’s dangerous rhetoric risks repeating the mistake inside Nato
“There’s some lessons here about what the purpose of an alliance is. It’s not just deterring adversaries, but also reflecting the interests of the other members, sometimes the smaller members of the alliance. The alliance is a lot stronger if they want to be within it than if they’re coerced by the biggest power in it.”
Trump warned his threats to take Greenland put critical US defence agreements at risk
Exclusive: Obama’s former assistant secretary of state Frank Rose was the last U.S. official to negotiate a defence deal with Denmark and the Greenland Home Rule administration. He spoke to The Independent about the international dispute that could break NATO
www.independent.co.uk
“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia (like they already do across from Alaska) or China as a neighbor,” Trump said. “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way.”
(Denmark has controlled Greenland for roughly 300 years and in 1916 the United States formally recognized Denmark’s interests in Greenland in exchange for the Danish West Indies, which became the U.S. Virgin Islands, but that’s sooo 1916)
Europe’s top leaders rally to defend Greenland against Trump’s threats
8 European leaders say only Denmark and Greenland can determine the future of the giant Arctic island.
www.politico.eu
What are potential ‘hard ways’ Trump could try to take Greenland?
From paying out Greenlanders or buying the territory or a military attack, we explore the options the US could consider.
Washington has also purchased territory from Denmark in the past. In 1917, the US, under President Woodrow Wilson, bought the Danish West Indies for $25m during World War I, later renaming them the United States Virgin Islands.
While Greenlanders have been open to departing from Denmark, the population has repeatedly refused to be a part of the US. Nearly 85 percent of the population rejects the idea, according to a 2025 poll commissioned by the Danish paper Berlingske.
Denmark and the US were among the 12 founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 to provide collective security against Soviet expansion.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance between 32 member states—30 in Europe and 2 in North America. Founded in the aftermath of World War II, NATO was established with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. The organization serves as a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any “outside” (?) party. This is enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty, which states that an armed attack against one member shall be considered an attack against them all.
On Tuesday, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, largely made up of European leaders, met in Paris with envoys of US President Donald Trump, to try to make further progress on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.
None of those countries want to risk antagonising Donald Trump but with the political temperature rising in Washington and in Copenhagen, six big European powers, including the UK, France and Germany, issued a joint statement on the sidelines of the Ukraine talks. But there was an immense Greenland-shaped elephant in that grand and glittering Paris meeting.
The painful questions for Nato and the EU if Trump takes Greenland
The White House has said that 'utilising the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal'
www.bbc.com
I wonder if this convention regarding the Danish West Indies (now known as the United States Virgin Islands) has also outlived its usefulness?
All the talk about Greenland makes me think the Canadian Arctic is already considered open access in the minds of the U.S.
Not only would Churchill be an excellent location for a pipeline terminal but would also be a good spot for an armed forces base imo.
Not only would Churchill be an excellent location for a pipeline terminal but would also be a good spot for an armed forces base imo.