Danish PM vows to defend ‘every inch’ of Greenland after Donald Trumps demand to control the Danish territory

Denmark is ready to “defend every inch” of NATO, including the kingdom of Denmark, Danish ‌Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said, a day after President Donald Trump reiterated that Greenland should be controlled by the United States.

“We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory . . . Of course we will defend the Kingdom of Denmark,” Frederiksen said in Ankara on Wednesday, reiterating that Greenland was not for sale.

“One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to ⁠one of us, then everybody should stand up ‌for each other.”

Trump’s assertions that the US should acquire or control Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, have strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen — ‌both founding NATO members — ‌and more ⁠broadly US ties with Europe.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Ankara that Denmark was ‌still pursuing diplomatic negotiations with Greenland and the US.

The outcome of the talks has yet to be presented.

“We have an agreement with the US administration that, within the framework of the kingdom’s red lines, we will try to see if we can find a solution that also addresses the US’s legitimate security interests,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said he “firmly” believed it was possible to reach a deal that would satisfy Greenland, Denmark and the US, by expanding a 1951 US-Danish defence agreement that gives Washington broad military access to the Arctic island.

Greenland’s prime minister said in May that increasing the US military presence in the Arctic ⁠territory was part of the ongoing talks.

Meanwhile, Trump has ordered an immediate halt to all trade with NATO ally Spain, escalating tensions over defence spending and the ‌Iran war.

This is despite European Union rules requiring trade negotiations to be conducted as a single bloc.

It ‌was the second ‌time Trump has ⁠instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt commerce with Spain over its refusal to commit to NATO’s new defence spending target of five per cent of GDP.

However, after his first such promise in March, trade between the two countries continued normally.

“Spain doesn’t agree to anything, and you shouldn’t carry them,” Trump told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who later tried to soothe the tension by saying that Spain “made a huge step last year” raising its spending to 2 per cent, although he added that “there are still issues we ⁠have to solve”.

“I don’t want to do any trade with them, ‌all right?” Trump said, turning to Bessent, who replied: “Yes, sir.”

Trump then added, “Take it immediately. Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless. They’re bad people . . . They make ‌so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less.”

The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who leads a minority leftist government, said it was treating Trump’s statements as “business as usual” and did not intend to change the “excellent” relations it enjoyed with Washington.

It pointed out that Spain had a trade deficit with the US and that economic ties were forged by private companies rather than governments, adding that as part ‌of the customs and trade union, individual EU members could not be singled out.

Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Spain after Sanchez refused to let the US use its airspace or bases on its territory for the Iran war.

Spain is the world’s largest olive oil exporter and also sells auto parts, steel, and chemicals to the US, although analysts consider it to be less vulnerable to Trump’s threats of economic punishment than other ⁠European economies.