WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump again reiterated the claims of having to do “something” about Greenland, saying that if US doesn’t take any action, Russia and China would spring in and that Washington does not want to have them as neighbours. In the context of Denmark, he said that landing a boat 500 years ago in Greenland “doesn’t mean they own the land”.
The US President made the remarks while interacting with mediapersons during his meeting with the top oil and gas executives.
When asked about Greenland, Trump said, “We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland — and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour. I would like to make a deal the easy way but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way”.
He added, “And by the way, I’m a fan of Denmark as well. They’ve been very nice to me. I’m a big fan but the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land. We had lots of boats go there also. But we need that because if you take a look at outside of Greenland right now, they are Russian destroyers, Chinese destroyers and bigger there are Russian submarines all over the place. We’re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland and that’s what they’re going to do if we don’t. We will do something with Greenland either the nice way or the difficult way.”
When asked why it was important to “own” Greenland, when the US has a military presence that it could expand, Trump said that one defends ownership and not leases.
“When we own it we defend it. You don’t defend leases the same way. You have to own it. Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership. You don’t defend leases. If we don’t do it, China or Russia well. That’s not going to happen… NATO has to understand that. I’m all for NATO. I saved it. If it weren’t for me, NATO would not be there.”
Trump has renewed his push to take over a semi-autonomous Danish territory rich in natural resources, including rare earth minerals, uranium, and iron. The new push to annexe Greenland comes after Trump’s use of military force against Venezuela on Saturday to seize its President Nicolas Maduro.
For decades, Washington has viewed Greenland as strategically important, and the Trump administration has once more placed the island at the centre of its Arctic agenda by reviving discussions around altering the status of the Danish territory.
Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, only to be told it was not for sale.
The fear of Russia and China laying a “claim” to foreign territories has been repeated by President Trump before too. Speaking in regard to the recent operation in capturing Nicolas Maduro, Trump said, “If we didn’t do what we did, China or Russia would have been in Venezuela.”
In another query about Europe, Trump expressed sharp disdain over energy generated from windmills and said, “I’m not much of a windmill person. I can proudly say that we have not approved one wind mill since I’ve been in office and we’re going to keep it that way. My role is to not let any windmill get build. They’re losers. They lose money, they destroy your landscape, they kill your birds, they are all made in China”.
Trump added that Europe should question China on how much windmill area does China itself have.
“They (China) use coal, oil and gas and some nuclear but they don’t have windmills. They make them and sell them to suckers like Europe and suckers like the United States before. They are the worst form of energy, most expensive form of energy”.
The remarks come after he signed a memorandum on Wednesday (local time), directing the withdrawal of the United States from international organisations, conventions and treaties that are “contrary to the interests” of the US.
The announcement was made in the statement of the Presidential Memoranda shared by the White House that mentioned withdrawal from 35-non non-UN organisations and 31 UN entities.
The Non-UN organisations include the India and France-led International Solar Alliance, key environmental bodies like the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Other non-UN bodies International Energy Forum, the International Renewable Energy Agency, the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation and the Global Counterterrorism Forum, among others.