Donald Trump has repeated he believes the US needs to acquire Greenland.
Sir Keir Starmer (Image: PA)
Sir Keir Starmer “set out his position on Greenland” in a phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday evening, Downing Street has said. Downing Street did not provide further details of Sir Keir’s comments during the call, nor on the US Presdident’s reaction to them. The phone call came on January 7, one day after the White House refused to rule out the use of the military to take over the Danish territory.
The world’s largest island has been described as vital for the national security of the States by Mr Trump. On Wednesday, too, the US refused to categorically rule out the possibility of using “military means” to take over the island. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, asked if Mr Trump wanted to buy Greenland: “That’s always been the president’s intent from the very beginning, he said it very early on. This is not new, he talked about it in his first term and he is not the first US president that has examined or looked at how can we acquire Greenland.”
But he added: “If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means.”
The UK Prime Minister has repeatedly said over the past few days the territory’s future must be a matter for Greenland and Denmark alone, including in the Commons earlier on Wednesday.
During today’s PMQs, he said: “The future of Greenland is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone.” However, he insisted he would not let the issue drive a wedge between Washington and London.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked if Sir Keir agreed with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who on Monday said that a US military intervention against a NATO ally would spell the end of the transatlantic alliance.
Sir Keir told the Lib Dem leader: “Of course, NATO is hugely important, the single most effective and important military alliance the world has ever known. He keeps encouraging me to sort of tug away at parts of Nato and to choose between Europe and the US. That would be a strategic mistake for our country.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy talked up the importance of the UK-US special relationship on a visit as part of the 250th anniversary of American independence, and is preparing to meet US Vice President JD Vance for talks on Thursday.
Donald Trump said the US needs Greenland (Image: AP)
The UK has also been one of the six European nations to rally in support of Copenhagen and Greenland on Tuesday, when they issued a joint statement saying the territory “belongs to its people”.
Wednesday’s call also saw Sir Keir and Mr Trump discuss the seizure of the oil tanker Marinera earlier in the day, continuing negotiations on the future of Ukraine and US military action in Venezuela.
It is the first time the two men have spoken since US special forces seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York on Saturday.
