President Donald Trump said Friday that Denmark cannot claim to own Greenland just because "they had a boat land there 500 years ago."
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump made the comments in a White House meeting with nearly two dozen oil executives.
"I would like to make a deal the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way," Trump said.
"I'm a fan of Denmark too. They've been very nice to me. I'm a big fan.
"But the fact that they had a boat land there [Greenland] 500 years ago doesn't mean they own the land. I'm sure we had lots of boats go there also.
"But we need that because if you take a look outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese, there are Russian submarines all over the place. We're not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland, and that's what they're going to do if we don't.
"So, we're going to be doing something with Greenland either the nice way or the more difficult way," he added.
Trump has for years floated the U.S. acquiring Greenland due to its strategic position between North America and Europe in the Arctic Circle and the island's rich resources.
They include some of the world's largest untapped reserves of rare earth elements — minerals critical to modern technologies, clean energy transitions, and defense systems.
Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under U.S. control, including potential use of the U.S. military and lump-sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to persuade them to secede from Denmark and join the U.S.
Leaders in Copenhagen and across Europe have reacted with disdain in recent days to assertions by Trump and other White House officials of their right to Greenland. The U.S. and Denmark are NATO allies bound by a mutual defense agreement.
On Tuesday, Denmark, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain issued a joint statement, saying that only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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