DENMARK: Def Min-US Cannot Decide On Denmark's Future

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen says that "We will not accept that the Americans believe that they can decide what the Commonwealth should be like in the future." Calls US President Donald Trump's statements regarding the ownership of Greenland "far-fetched in every way". Poulsen says that the US is "going too far" on the subject. 

• Speaking on 26 March, Trump said “It’s an island that from a defensive posture, and even offensive posture, is something we need, especially with the world the way it is, and we’re going to have to have it,”
• Asked whether he can rule out the US taking over Greenland, the minster said he would "not go into those hypothetical thoughts".
• The comments come as Vice President JD Vance is set to visit a US military base in Greenland.
• While the visit in itself has escalated tensions, the nature of the trip has shown the US taking a step backward from full confrontation. Initially, Second Lady Usha Vance was set to lead a delegation including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Christ Wright on a visit to the Greenlandic capital Nuuk and the town of Sisimiut to take part in cultural visits and watch a national dog sled race.
• This raised the prospect of protests and would pose the difficult question of how the group would be received diplomatically by the Danish and Greenlandic gov'ts. However, by restricting the trip to just the US military base (even with the VP now in attendance), this issue is avoided.