Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
First it was Canada, then the Panama Canal. Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland.
The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he’s picking fights even before taking office on Jan. 20.
In a Sunday announcement naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Trump again having designs on Greenland comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the U.S. could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn’t done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
He’s also been suggesting that Canada become the 51st U.S. state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
Greenland, the world’s largest island, sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is 80% covered by an ice sheet and is home to a large U.S. military base. It gained home rule from Denmark in 1979 and its head of government, Múte Bourup Egede, suggested that Trump’s latest calls for U.S. control would be as meaningless as those made in his first term.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Yukon Arctic defence council calls for more attention to infrastructure in new report, CBC News
Denmark: Denmark and Greenland to discuss Arctic defence cooperation amid global tensions, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: US, Norwegian forces in Lapland for rapid reinforcement exercise, The Independent Barents Observer
Norway: Nordic countries get ready to establish cross-border military corridors, CBC News
Russia:Russia to begin artillery firing near Norway’s Grense Jakobselv, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Updated version of Sweden’s preparedness guide sent out to households, Radio Sweden
United States: White House releases U.S. Arctic strategy implementation plan, Eye on the Arctic
