Denmark is in “crisis mode” after Donald Trump made a direct play for Greenland in a “horrendous” phone call with the country’s prime minister.
The US president spoke to Mette Frederiksen, the Danish premier, for 45 minutes last week and made clear he wanted to place Greenland under American control.
The autonomous Arctic territory has been owned by Denmark since 1814, but Mr Trump thinks it would be a valuable asset in the US’s strategic competition against Russia and China.
Ms Frederiksen told him in their call last week that despite his “big interest”, Greenland was not for sale, the Financial Times reported.
Mr Trump then became “aggressive”, according to the newspaper, and threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark unless Greenland was sold to the US.
The call came after Mr Trump refused to rule out using military force to take Greenland in a press conference on Jan 7, arguing that it was a matter of “national security” that the US gained an Arctic base.
Denmark has repeatedly ruled out selling Greenland, and argues that the territory’s 57,000 residents should be allowed to decide their nation’s political future.
A source briefed on the call told the FT that the phone call was “horrendous,” while another said that Mr Trump was “very firm”.
Denmark was now “in crisis” over the dispute, fearing massive tariffs on exports to one of its largest trading partners, said another person briefed on the conversation.
“The intent was very clear. They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode,” they said.
Ms Frederiksen, who has held crisis talks with major Danish companies in recent days, has also described the US as Denmark’s “most important and closest ally”.
Previous attempts by the US to buy Greenland have been rebuffed by Copenhagen.
Mr Trump laid out his plans to take the territory earlier this month, arguing that the US “needed” Greenland for “national security purposes”.
He also said on his Truth Social platform that the nation’s residents “need safety, security, strength, and peace!”
“This is a deal that must happen,” he said. “Make Greenland Great Again!”
Donald Trump Jr, the president’s oldest son, visited Greenland in a “personal capacity” on the same day as the press conference and posted photographs of himself meeting locals.
Military experts say a significant presence in Greenland could give the US the upper hand in competition for control of areas of the Arctic ocean exposed by melting sea ice.
Last year, the Pentagon warned that Russia and China were increasingly collaborating in the Arctic in an attempt to take control of key shipping routes.
However, Mr Trump’s refusal to rule out a full-scale invasion of Greenland has raised questions about the Nato alliance, of which both Denmark and the US are members.
The alliance’s Article 5 collective defence agreement states that a military attack on one member would result in other members declaring war on the aggressor.
It is not clear what would happen if one Nato member attacked another.
