MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Denmark says Greenland 'not for sale' after Trump renews call for US control

Trump also suggested he could remove all US soldiers from Europe

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reaffirmed on Wednesday that Greenland is “not for sale” and that her country is ready to defend “every inch” of its territory, after US President Donald Trump insisted that the Arctic territory should be under the control of the United States rather than Denmark.

Frederiksen spoke to reporters at the NATO summit being held in Ankara. “Our position is clear as it has been all through. Greenland is, of course, not for sale,” she said, adding that all allies should respect Danish sovereignty and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination. Asked whether Denmark was prepared to defend the territory militarily in the event of an attack, she replied that her country was ready to defend “every inch” of NATO, including its own territory. She noted that Greenland, the Arctic and the High North were not on the summit agenda.

Her remarks responded to comments Trump had made the previous day in Ankara, during a press conference alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” the president said of Greenland. He argued that the dispute had harmed Washington's relationship with NATO and that the territory was strategically important for the United States given the presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the area. Trump also suggested he could remove all US soldiers from Europe.

Greenland's Foreign Minister, Mute Egede, rejected any external control and said the territory's future must be decided by its people. “That's how it has always been. And that's how it always will be,” he wrote on social media, while reaffirming the island's cooperation with its allies.

Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and both Copenhagen and Washington are founding members of NATO. Trump's claim to the island, which he had already raised during his first term, reignited a diplomatic crisis with Denmark and the European Union in early 2026, after the president initially declined to rule out the use of force. The dispute was later channeled into diplomatic talks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June that conversations with Denmark and Greenland were continuing on a monthly basis.