US President Donald Trump renewed his demand that Greenland should be controlled by the United States, not Denmark, during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara today, and threatened to withdraw all American troops from Europe over allied opposition to the move.
“It should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” Trump told reporters. “And when they wouldn’t go along with it, we don’t have to spend any money. We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe.” Trump said he was “very disappointed” with NATO and admitted he might not have attended were the summit not held in Turkey.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded directly and firmly. “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland has never been for sale and will never be for sale,” she said, adding that Greenland’s future belongs exclusively to its own people. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves echoed the sentiment, saying the question is for the Greenlandic and Danish people to decide. Finnish President Alexander Stubb offered a cooler response, telling reporters to be more Arctic and more cool.
Trump separately announced the US would lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, clearing a path for Ankara to potentially rejoin the F-35 programme. Zelenskyy meets Trump in Ankara today.
