United States (US) President Donald Trump on Wednesday (21/1) denied that concerns about control of rare earth minerals were the main driving force behind his ambition to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland."I want Greenland for security. Not for anything else. We have so many rare earth minerals that we don't know what to do with them. We don't need them for anything else," Trump said while meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Trump added that exploiting Greenland's resources is no easy feat. He said it would require digging about eight meters beneath the ice sheet to reach them, something not many people are willing or able to do.
“No, this is a security issue we are talking about,” he said.
Greenland attracted Trump's attention because of its strategic position in the Arctic region, its wealth of mineral resources, and alleged concerns about the growing presence of Russia and China in the region.
Some critics say Trump's push to control Greenland has the potential to fracture the Western alliance, something that is seen as beneficial to China and Russia.
They also argue that the US could actually protect Greenland from external threats through existing treaties, which allow for the presence of a number of US bases and troops on the island.
The Danish government and Greenlandic authorities have rejected the proposal to sell the territory and reaffirmed Danish sovereignty over Greenland.
When asked about the form of the desired agreement between the US and Denmark, Trump declined to provide details. "We'll see what happens," he said earlier that day.
Trump also touched on the costs of managing Greenland, which he said are burdensome for Denmark. He said Denmark spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually to manage the territory.
"Denmark is a small country with wonderful people, but it's very expensive. It's a vast expanse of ice," Trump said during an informal discussion at the WEF.
He reiterated that Greenland has a very important meaning.
"It's important for us to use it for national and international security, to create a force that makes it impossible for the bad guys to do anything to those who are supposedly good," Trump said.
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