Greenland devastated by Trump’s takeover threats: business minister
Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for industry, raw materials, mining, energy, law enforcement and equality, addresses MPs at a meeting in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) room, in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, organised by the APPG for Greenland following US threats to take over the territory.
James Manning – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images
Greenlanders are “bewildered” by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “devastating” bid to annex the Arctic island, its business minister has told CNBC, as the issue turns into a geopolitical firestorm.
Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday ahead of Trump addressing the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Naaja Nathanielsen, minister for business and mineral resources, described the international attention as “quite devastating” for many of the roughly 57,000 Greenlanders.
Asked how people in Greenland have been feeling amid Trump’s pursuit of the island, Nathanielsen said: “People are worried, people are afraid, people are bewildered.”
“[We have] always considered ourselves as an ally of the U.S. and have tried to accommodate the needs from the U.S. over the years and done so happily,” Nathanielsen said via video call.
“To all of a sudden find ourselves in the midst of a storm that’s about acquiring us like a product or a property, it’s really difficult for us — not to mention the threats of military action and an actual occupation of our country.”
Her comments come as the U.S. president stepped up his efforts to acquire the self-governing Danish territory, which he has claimed is “imperative” for U.S. national security. On Monday, he answered “no comment” when asked by NBC if he’d use military force to seize it.
“There can be no going back,” Trump said of his plans in a social media post on Tuesday.
The U.S. president on Saturday pledged to impose a rising wave of tariffs on eight European countries from Feb. 1 for opposing the U.S. acquiring Greenland.
To all of a sudden find ourselves in the midst of a storm that’s about acquiring us like a product or a property, it’s really difficult for us.”
Naaja Nathanielsen
Greenland’s minister for business and mineral resources
European political leaders have sought to push back and are expected to hold talks over how to respond in the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday described Trump’s tariff threats as “fundamentally unacceptable,” while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the move “completely wrong.”
Nathanielsen told CNBC she had been “really moved by the strong show of solidarity” from European political leaders. “You cannot go along with a scheme where you have to accept that an ally occupies another ally,” she said.
‘A threat we have never seen before’
Protests have taken place in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and Denmark’s Copenhagen in recent days, with people marching with red and white Greenlandic flags.
Opinion polls have shown that Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose U.S. control, while a strong majority support…
Read More: Greenland devastated by Trump’s takeover threats: business minister