The Financial Times (FT) reports, citing European officials, that US President Donald Trump had a “fiery”conversation with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen last week, in which the proposal to buy Greenland was discussed. According to FT sources, the conversation went poorly, with Trump being aggressive and confrontational, despite Frederiksen offering to strengthen cooperation on military bases and mining. “It was terrible”said a conversation partner to the newspaper. Another official stated that it was previously hard to take Trump seriously, but now “it’s all serious and potentially very dangerous.”FT cited another source: “It was a very tough conversation. He threatened with concrete measures against Denmark, such as targeted tariffs.”
Several European politicians had hoped that Trump’s statements, that he would seek control over Greenland for national security reasons, were a negotiating tactic aimed at increasing influence on NATO, as well as on Russia and China. However, the conversation with Frederiksen has “ruined these hopes”and has escalated the foreign policy crisis between the North Atlantic allies, according to the newspaper.
Despite this, the office of the Danish Prime Minister denied the interpretation of the conversation given by anonymous sources. The 45-minute conversation took place on January 15, before Trump’s inauguration. The White House did not officially comment on the matter. Frederiksen emphasized after the conversation that the island, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is not for sale, but acknowledged that Washington has “great interest”in the area.
At the beginning of January, the Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede stated that the island should neither belong to Denmark nor the United States. Frederiksen called this wish “legitimate and understandable.