Donald Trump recently ramped up threats to seize control of Greenland, which he has long argued should come under US control.
READ MORE: https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/why-does-trump-want-greenland-america-03lbsmt9s
The US president threatened punitive tariffs on Denmark, which has control over the autonomous territory, if it does not yield to his demands. He has refused to rule out using military force to occupy the island, which the prime ministers of both Denmark and Greenland insist is not for sale.
In his latest state of the union address, Trump said he supported the island’s inhabitants to determine their own future. But then he added, of the self-governing territory: “We need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”
Trump initially became interested during his first term in the White House after it was suggested by his friend Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics brand.
Trump said he saw it as a “large real estate deal” and became more convinced when he learnt more about the island’s strategic importance and the Arctic’s wealth of natural resources. He assigned a small team to prepare options including a long-term lease deal not dissimilar to a New York property agreement.
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