Europe condemns Trump's Greenland annexation threat

“U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland is alarming enough to raise concerns about a third world war.”

Asgar, a Danish university student, made the remark on Jan. 20 local time at Copenhagen International Airport. He said he felt uneasy, adding that Trump appeared to be using the Greenland annexation issue to divert public attention following negative reactions in the United States and abroad over the possible ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

At the same airport, Hans, a Swedish national, said many Danes were angered by the situation and believed that Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind the obesity drug Wegovy, should stop selling it to the United States. “I share that anger,” he said.

Tensions between the United States and Europe have recently intensified after Trump reiterated his interest in annexing Greenland and threatened to impose additional tariffs on European countries that have stationed troops there. Europeans interviewed in Copenhagen criticized the U.S. president and said Europe should respond more assertively, with Denmark taking the lead.

According to Danish broadcaster TV2 on Jan. 19, the Danish government dispatched what it described as “a significant number of troops” to Greenland that evening, accompanied by Army Chief of Staff Peter Bøgh Sørensen. Denmark had already sent several hundred troops to Greenland in recent weeks, a move widely seen as signaling its resolve to defend the territory amid Trump’s annexation remarks.

On the same day, Trump told NBC in a phone interview that Europe should focus on the Russia-Ukraine war, while emphasizing that Greenland is strategically important for countering external threats, including those posed by China and Russia.


Keun-Hyung Yoo noel@donga.com