ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump's renewed demands that the U.S. should take control of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, saying that “Greenland is of course not for sale.”
“We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenland people's right for self-determination,” Frederiksen said ahead of a meeting of the leaders of NATO member countries in Turkey. “We are
sovereign states and we need everybody to respect our territorial integrity and our sovereignty.”
Trump reopened old wounds over Greenland on the eve of the meeting by insisting that the United States should control the semiautonomous island. NATO is founded on the principle that its 32 members will defend each others’ territory, not threaten to seize it.
Frederiksen said Denmark is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.
Iceland’s Prime Minister, Kristrún Frostadóttir, said Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland,” and called for unity among the NATO allies in the face of external dangers.
“We have threats coming from outside the alliance,” Frostadóttir said. "Russia is their biggest threat when it comes to these NATO allies. We need to focus on us and how we stick together.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said from Ankara on Wednesday that he believes the United States is fully committed to the military organization, and praised Trump for taking forceful action against Iran overnight.
“I think it was absolutely necessary because when you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating a ceasefire, we see what happened yesterday,” Rutte said of the series of U.S. strikes on Iran after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react,” Rutte said.
The U.S. strikes on Iran, as well as the revoking of a license allowing it to sell its oil on global markets, were retaliation, and underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting between the two countries.
Trump launched the attacks shortly after leaving a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and so far has not spoken about the strikes.
It is rare for U.S. presidents to launch military action while outside the U.S., though in 2011 former President Barack Obama authorized strikes in Libya while on a trip to Brazil.
The meeting in Ankara of NATO’s 32 member countries was meant to focus on progress made toward meeting the alliance's spending targets.
Rutte said U.S. demands for all allies to spend the same in terms of gross domestic product “is completely fair,” and noted that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark and Greece are already investing more.
“The commitment is there, no doubt,” Rutte said before chairing the summit of NATO leaders, but noted that the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadian will equalize their spending with the United States.”
NATO summits are designed to be a show of unity aimed at deterring any potential adversary — a resolve more important than ever as Russia continues to wage war on Ukraine, and concerns mount that other European countries could be targeted.
In an attempt last month to mollify the U.S. leader, Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.
Yet Trump has demanded “loyalty” and branded NATO a “paper tiger” after some allies refused to grant open access to their bases for U.S. forces to attack Iran.
As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.
NATO diplomats and officials had hoped that Trump would take the win, but judging by some of his remarks since arriving in Turkey, they are in for yet another dressing down.
Trump has long argued that the U.S. carries more than its fair share of the defense burden for NATO. At last year's summit, the allies had agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on roads, bridges and ports so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.
New figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic could be in hot water with the Trump administration as they struggle to meet the alliance’s old target of investing 2% of their GDP.
The Trump administration wants to see a more lean and lethal “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.
However, the Pentagon has launched a 6-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.
The drawdowns could depend on how fast the European allies increase defense spending, and whether they are prepared to allow greater use of their bases.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities.
Zelenskyy, who is expected to meet with Trump in Ankara on Wednesday, highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia, hit Moscow’s oil refineries and other energy targets. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.
Concern has been mounting among some northern, central and eastern European countries that Russia might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Russian President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.
Trump will also meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated autocrat Bashar Assad in December 2024. Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s backing as he seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its long-shattered ties with the West.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that al-Sharaa would do a better job of rooting out Hezbollah in Lebanon than the Israeli army, raising alarms in Lebanon and Israel alike. The Syrian leader has said he has no interest in doing so.
