Trump cancels visit Denmark to negotiate the purchase of Greenland

The President of the United States Donald Trump had an official visit to Denmark scheduled for the 2nd September after being invited by Danish Queen Margrethe II. There were many indications in the media last week that the USA is very interested in buying Greenland, which is currently an autonomous Danish territory.

The Prime Minister of this Scandinavian country Mette Frederiksen has stated that this allegation is just absurd, adding a comment that the USA President is either joking or not being serious enough about his visit to Denmark. Why would the States have so much interest to obtain this piece of land? After these statements, Mr. Trump has decided to cancel this trip to Northern Europe. He didn’t like how PM Frederiksten approached this matter and also because there is no mutual desire to discuss the purchase of Greenland. Just a couple of hours later the cancellation was confirmed by a White House spokesman, so it is not official.

The Danish Royal House has also confirmed this, that they are being informed of the new plans of Donald Trump. Their Head of Communications Lene Balleby had an interview with BBC a couple of days ago, adding that she was really surprised by the decision.

Interestingly there are some betting markets available for politics and political events. Check them out at bettingoffers.cash.

Trump’s intentions to negotiate the purchase of Greenland were obvious three months ago in his public statements. Some of the US journalists have asked him if there is an option to trade some of the US territories in exchange for this landmass, but the reply from the US President was very vague. His Monday’s tweet was interesting to read through. Mr. Trump has posted an image on twitter showing a tall golden skyscraper surrounded by small houses on Greenland, adding that are not his intentions with the land.

Reaction from some Danish officials was not that great. They are obviously not happy with how the cancellation occurred. One of the populist leaders of the Danish People’s Party Kristian Thulesen Dahl described Trump’s decision as a farce and bad April Fools’ joke. One of the Conservative’s leaders Rasmus Jarlov who previously claimed that the sale of Greenland is hardly going to happen has accused the US President of disrespecting Denmark.

The most valuable thing on Greenland at the moment are resources like iron ore, zinc, copper, and coal. Despite these riches, this territory is still heavily dependant on Denmark for around 70% of its total revenue. Unfortunately, there is a high suicide rate on Greenland, as well as unemployment and alcoholism. The US public also things Trump is focused on this territory because of its great location and big strategic point – it is between the direct route from Europe to North America. We also shouldn’t forget that new Arctic sea routes are getting opened up due to climate changes – melting of the ice here accelerated.

Greenland is the world’s largest island after Australia. It became an autonomous Danish territory a long time ago, with a population of around 55,000, mainly located around the coastline. Habitants are around 90% Greenlandic Inuit origin. They have their own government and a parliament. More than three-thirds of the island are covered by an ice cap, but the melting increased drastically over the course of the last three decades. The first time the US tried to buy it was in the 1860s under Andrew Johnson. Is Trump going to succeed?

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.