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- Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has pledged to defend “every inch of NATO,” including Greenland.
- Her comments come shortly after Trump renewed his threats to try to acquire the self-governing Danish territory.
- The U.S. president also suggested that Washington could pull all of its troops out of Europe in response to the region’s continued pushback on the issue.
Birds fly over houses overshadowed by the mountain in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 10, 2026.Florent Vergnes | Afp | Getty Images
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday delivered a rebuke to President Donald Trump‘s latest push for U.S. control of Greenland, saying the Scandinavian country is ready to defend “every inch” of its territory.
Speaking to reporters on the second day of the NATO summit in Turkey’s capital Ankara, Denmark’s Frederiksen underscored the message that Greenland is not for sale.
Her comments come shortly after the U.S. president renewed his threat to seek to acquire the self-governing Danish territory, suggesting that the U.S. could pull its troops out of Europe in response to the region’s continued pushback on the issue.
“Our position is clear as it has been all through. Greenland is, of course, not for sale,” Frederiksen said. “We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenlandic people’s right for self-determination and we are a sovereign state, and we need everybody to respect our territorial integrity and our sovereignty.”
watch nowVIDEO01:26Denmark will defend Greenland, says Prime Minister Mette FrederiksenEurope Early Edition
Asked by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick whether Denmark was prepared to defend Greenland militarily in the event of an attack, Frederiksen replied: “We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory.”
She added: “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.”
In a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, Trump said Europe’s refusal to go along with his expansionist desire is “what hurt my relationship with NATO.”
Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” Trump said. “And when they wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia — we don’t have to spend any money.”
The U.S. president also suggested that the country could remove “all of our soldiers out of Europe,” before adding: “Because as you probably noticed, Europe’s a very different place than it was 20 years ago.”
This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.
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