<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/22/denmark-summon-us-ambassador-trump-greenland-envoy-appointment>
"The prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland have demanded respect for their
borders after Donald Trump appointed a special envoy to the largely
self-governing Danish territory, which he has said repeatedly should be under
US control.
“We have said it very clearly before. Now we say it again. National borders and
the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law … You cannot annex
other countries,” Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint
statement.
The two leaders added that “fundamental principles” were at stake. “Greenland
belongs to the Greenlanders, and the US should not take over Greenland,” they
said. “We expect respect for our common territorial integrity.”
Trump on Sunday appointed the governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, as US special
envoy to the vast, mineral-rich Arctic island. The US president has on several
occasions said the US needs to acquire Greenland for security reasons, while
refusing to rule out the use of force.
The US president wrote on social media: “Jeff understands how essential
Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s
Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the
World.”
Later on Monday, Trump reiterated that the US needed Greenland for “national
security, not for minerals”, adding that there were Russian and Chinese ships
“all over the place” and Landry would “lead the charge.”
Landry, a former state attorney general who took office as Louisiana governor
in January 2024, thanked Trump, saying it was “an honour to serve you in this
volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US”.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told Danish television on
Monday he would summon Washington’s ambassador to Copenhagen, Ken Howery, to
the ministry in the coming days “to get an explanation”.
Rasmussen said he was “deeply upset by this appointment of a special envoy”,
and “particularly upset” by Landry’s statement, which he said Denmark had found
“completely unacceptable”.
He added: “As long as we have a kingdom in Denmark that consists of Denmark,
the Faroe Islands and Greenland, we cannot accept that there are those who
undermine our sovereignty.”"
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
