Denmark Dismisses Idea of Selling Greenland to US as 'Absurd'

Denmark Dismisses Idea of Selling Greenland to US as 'Absurd'
Fecha de publicación: 
19 August 2019
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“Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland," the Danish prime minister said.

The idea of selling Greenland to the United States is nonsensical, said Sunday the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, after an adviser of U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the president’s interest in the acquisition of the autonomous Danish territory for "strategic reasons."

“Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously,” Frederiksen said in an interview during a visit to Greenland.

The premier added that “it’s an absurd discussion, and Kim Kielsen [Prime Minister of Greenland] has, of course, made it clear that Greenland is not for sale. That’s where the conversation ends.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, told Fox News Sunday that the president was not joking regarding his considerations of purchasing the world’s largest island from Denmark.

“I don’t want to predict an outcome, I’m just saying the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look at a Greenland purchase,” he said, before he added that “Denmark owns Greenland, Denmark is an ally, Greenland is a strategic place, up there. And they’ve got a lot of valuable minerals.”

The white house adviser also recalled that President Harry Truman (1945 -1953) also had wanted to buy the island.

Greenland, located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, is dependent on Danish economic support. It handles its own domestic affairs while Copenhagen looks after defense and foreign policy.

A 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the U.S. gives the latter military rights over the Thule Air Base in northern Greenland.

Talks of the purchase were first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week, and two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the idea had been laughed off by some advisers as a joke, but was taken seriously by others.

Trump is due to visit Copenhagen in September and the Arctic will be on the agenda during meetings with the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland.

The world largest island is gaining attention from global superpowers including China, Russia, and the U.S. due to its strategic location and its mineral resources.

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