During a visit to Paris, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken downplayed Donald Trump’s threats of annexation regarding Greenland. ‘It’s not a good idea. But more importantly, it won’t happen,” he said on Wednesday (see video above). “That’s why we shouldn’t waste time discussing it further.”
“We are stronger, we are more effective and we achieve better results when we work closely with our allies and do not say or do anything that could alienate them from us. The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one. But perhaps more importantly, it is clearly also an idea that will not be put into practice. “So we probably shouldn’t waste time discussing it further,” the outgoing US secretary of state said in Paris.
Trump indicated at a press conference on Tuesday that he wanted to annex the Panama Canal and Greenland to the United States. When asked by a journalist whether he could rule out military force in his foreign policy plans, the US president-elect said: “I’m not going to commit to that, no. Maybe you should do something.’
Scholz sharply rejects Trump’s wishes
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sharply rejected Trump’s wishes for Greenland on Wednesday. “The principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country – regardless of whether it is located in the east or in the west,” he said in Berlin – in an apparent allusion to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
“Every state must comply with this – regardless of whether it is a small country or a very powerful state,” said Scholz, who reported that he had spoken to European colleagues about the issue. “A certain lack of understanding has become apparent when it comes to the current statements from the US,” the German Chancellor continued.
The 2.175 million square kilometer Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953 and has been a self-governing territory of the kingdom since 1979. However, Denmark continues to exercise control over foreign and security policy.
Important for the American early warning system
Greenland, with its Pituffik air base, is of enormous strategic importance to the US military and its ballistic missile early warning system. The reason? The shortest route from Europe to North America passes through the island. The Greenlandic capital Nuuk is closer to New York than to Copenhagen.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
