Danish PM vows to ‘stand against’ White House aggressive campaign against Arctic island

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen lashed out at President Donald Trump’s U.S. administration for putting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland, as she slammed the upcoming visit to the Danish territory by U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance, Politico writes.

“This is clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants. Therefore, I have to say that it is unacceptable pressure being put on Greenland and Denmark in this situation. And it’s a pressure we will stand against,” Frederiksen said.

Frederiksen’s condemnation marks her most trenchant criticism of the White House since Trump turned his attention to seizing the self-ruling Danish territory, with its vast reserves of critical minerals and vital geostrategic location in the Arctic.

Trump first floated the prospect of the U.S. acquiring Greenland during his first term but has raised the stakes since reentering the White House.

The U.S. president did not rule out taking the world’s largest island using military force or economic coercion—and calling it an “absolute necessity” for U.S. national security.

Frederiksen stressed that when Trump talks about Greenland, the U.S. president “is serious,” and poses a real threat. She also emphasized that both Copenhagen and Nuuk have a strong desire to cooperate with the U.S. “We are allies, we have a defense agreement on Greenland dating back to 1951. There is no indication in either Denmark or Greenland that we do not want to cooperate with the Americans. But when you make a visit like this and the Greenlandic politicians say they don’t want this visit, you can’t interpret that as respectful,” the Danish prime minister added.