🔗 Share this article

A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on Denmark by questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically the use of armed force would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Denmark does not have a valid claim to the territory, which is a one-time colonial possession and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the American leader's repeated interest to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be achieved without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, it is logical that Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

International Reactions

These statements came after Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, calling on the US president to give up his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, shared a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the social media post, he responded by stating: “This has represented the formal position of the US government from the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support for self-rule, especially following revelations about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”