Trump says ‘US will do something’ on Greenland, else China, Russia will take over — 'whether they like it or not' | Today News

US President Donald Trump said the United States will “to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland.”

Speaking after a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Friday, Trump doubled down on his Greenland ambitions, saying, “We're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour.”

“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if not, we are going to do it the hard way... When we own it, we defend it...,” Trump said.

"Look at what happened with the horrible deal Obama made with Iran, which was a short-term deal... Countries need to have ownership... We have to defend Greenland, because if we don't, China or Russia will...," Trump said.

When asked why it was important to "own" Greenland, when the US has a military presence that it could expand, Trump said that one defends ownership and not leases.

“When we own it, we defend it. You don't defend leases the same way. You have to own it. Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership. You don't defend leases. If we don't do it, China or Russia will," Trump was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

"That's not going to happen... NATO has to understand that. I'm all for NATO. I saved it. If it weren't for me, NATO would not be there,” he added.

In a statement on Friday, Premier of Greenland Jens-Frederik Nielsen reportedky said, “As leaders of Greenland’s political parties, we once again wish to underline our firm position that the United States’ disregard for our country must come to an end.”

“We do not wish to be Americans. We do not wish to be Danes. We wish to be Greenlanders,” he said, as per a statement shared on social media.

He said the future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people. “Work concerning Greenland’s future is conducted in dialogue with the population and prepared on the basis of international law and the Self-Government Act,” he added.

“No other country has the right to interfere in this process. We will decide our country’s future ourselves—without pressure to make hasty decisions, without delays imposed from outside, and without external interference,” the premier said.

For decades, Washington has viewed Greenland as strategically important, and the Trump administration has once more placed the island at the centre of its Arctic agenda by reviving discussions around altering the status of the Danish territory.

Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under US control, including potential use of the US military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the US.

Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, only to be told it was not for sale.

The fear of Russia and China laying a "claim" to foreign territories has been repeated by President Trump before too.

Speaking in regard to the recent operation in capturing Nicolas Maduro, Trump said, "If we didn't do what we did, China or Russia would have been in Venezuela."