One of Donald Trump’s most influential aides has said Greenland should become part of the US in order to protect Nato and the Arctic.
Asked in an interview with CNN to confirm the US would rule out the use of force to annex the semi-autonomous region of fellow Nato member Denmark, Stephen Miller said, “nobody’s going to fight the US over the future of Greenland.”
On Sunday Trump repeated his insistence that the US “needs” Greenland – to the consternation of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen who said an attack by the US would spell the end of Nato.
Six European allies rallied to Denmark’s support with a joint statement on Tuesday.
“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” read the statement by the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark.
In his interview with CNN, Miller said it was “the formal position of the US government that Greenland should be part of the US”.
He went on: “By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is their basis of claiming Greenland as a colony of Denmark?”
The top Trump aide also said the US “is the power of Nato. For the US to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend Nato and Nato interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”
Nato is a trans-Atlantic military group where allies are expected to go to each other’s aid in case of external attacks.
The issue of Greenland’s future resurfaced in the wake of the US military intervention in Venezuela, during which elite troops went in to seize the country’s President Nicolás Maduro and take him to face drugs and weapons charges in New York.
Following the raid, Trump said the US would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified period of time.
He also said the US was returning to an 1823 policy of US supremacy in its sphere of influence in the Western hemisphere – and he warned a number of countries the US could turn its attention to.
In the wake of the Venezuela intervention, Miller’s wife Katie posted on social media a map of Greenland in the colours of the American flag, alongside the word “SOON”.
It has reignited fears that the US may consider using force to secure control of Greenland, a vast island in the Arctic – something the US president has previously refused to rule out.
Trump has claimed that making it part of the United States would serve American security interests due to its strategic location and its abundance of minerals critical to high-tech sectors.
The Trump administration’s recent move to appoint a special envoy to Greenland prompted anger in Denmark.
Greenland, which has a population of 57,000 people, has had extensive self-government since 1979, though defence and foreign policy remain in Danish hands.
While most Greenlanders favour eventual independence from Denmark, opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the US.
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