President Donald Trump said on Thursday that under the framework of a plan currently being negotiated between his administration and NATO, the United States would be given “total access” to Greenland “at no cost.”
Trump told Fox Business that under the proposal, the United States is “getting everything we want at no cost.” The president said that Greenland is vital for U.S. national security and will be used for “a piece” of his “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
“Everything comes over Greenland. If the bad guys start shooting, it comes over Greenland,” he said, adding, “It’s pretty invaluable.”
“So what are we talking about, an acquisition of Greenland? Are you going to pay for it?” asked Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
“It’s really being negotiated now, the details of it,” Trump replied. “But, essentially, it’s total access. There’s no end. There’s no time limit.”
Trump spoke to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos on Wednesday and announced shortly after the meeting that they worked out a “framework” for a deal on Greenland. Rutte confirmed that the United States and NATO have made significant progress toward securing an agreement covering the large territory that Denmark oversees. Rutte said on Thursday that, as part of the deal, NATO allies will have to increase their military presence in the Arctic region.
It remains unclear if Greenland and Denmark support the deal currently under negotiation. Danish leaders have strongly opposed Trump’s push to acquire the territory, while Greenlandic leaders have said they don’t want to become part of the United States.
Trump has been pushing for the United States to acquire Greenland since returning to the White House last January, and he has increased pressure on Greenland, Denmark, and other European nations over the issue in recent weeks. The president believes that Greenland is essential for U.S. national security, arguing that China and Russia will take over the territory if the United States doesn’t.
Trump told Bartiromo on Thursday that it’s still possible that the United States will end up controlling Greenland. During his speech at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, Trump said he would not use military force to annex the territory.
While Trump says national security is the main reason for his desire to acquire Greenland, rare-earth minerals also play a role in his push. Rare-earth minerals were also part of the framework agreement with NATO, the president said. Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, who began in the administration as the president’s national security adviser, said last January that the United States needed Greenland for its “critical minerals” as well as national security.
Greenland holds large deposits of rare earth minerals that could play a key role in America’s push to ramp up rare earth mining and end its dependence on China. But Greenland’s underdeveloped tundra would be challenging to mine for minerals, The Hill reported.
“Everyone talks about the minerals. There’s so many,” Trump said on Wednesday. “There’s no such thing as rare earth. There’s rare processing. But there’s so much rare earth. And to get to this rare earth, you got to go through hundreds of feet of ice. That’s not the reason we need it. We need it for strategic national security and international security.”
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