🚨 Trump news at a glance: Danish PM believes US president still wants to own Greenland
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has said she believes Donald Trump still wants to own Greenland, despite dialling back his recent threats to seize it by force.
Asked at the Munich Security Conference if the US president still wanted to own the Arctic island, Frederiksen said: “Unfortunately, I think the desire is the same.”
Trump’s designs on Greenland have caused tension to soar between the United States and Europe. Last month, he backed down from his threats to seize the island, an autonomous territory of ally Denmark, after striking what he called a “framework” deal with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.
But relations have remained strained.
Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said the pressure on the island’s people was “unacceptable”. But Nielsen said “some steps” had been taken “in the right direction”.
Rubio tells Europe US wants renewed alliance – but on Trump’s terms
The remarks came after Frederiksen and Nielsen had a 15-minute meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday on the sidelines of the security conference.
On Saturday, Rubio described America as “a child of Europe” and made an emotional but highly conditional offer of a new partnership, insisting the two continents belong together.
In a much-anticipated speech at the annual Munich Security Conference, he said the US was intent on building a new world order, adding “while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe”.