Denmark: Siltanews – News Desk
“I think we can all do ourselves a favor and turn down the pulse a little bit,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Denmark’s top diplomat urged calm Wednesday following United States President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out using military force to acquire Greenland.
“I do not get any impression that we are in any foreign policy crisis,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told Danish media. “I do get the impression that the president on his way into the White House has a heightened focus on the Arctic.
“I think we can all do ourselves a favor and turn down the pulse a little bit,” he added. “I have my own experiences with Donald Trump, and also know that it is not everything you think that you should say aloud.”
Trump declared Tuesday he would not exclude using economic or military coercion to gain control of Greenland, a self-ruling Danish territory, and the Panama Canal. “I’m not gonna commit to that. No. It might be that you’ll have to do something,” he said.
“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he added. “People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do they should give it up because we need it for national security.”
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., landed in Greenland on Tuesday on what he called a private visit. His entourage included the elder Trump’s personnel director, Sergio Gor, and bombastic conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the U.S. president-elect described the group as his “reps.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede held talks on Wednesday with the Danish king in Copenhagen. “Let me repeat — Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland. Our future and fight for independence is our business,” Bourup Egede wrote on social media on Tuesday night reacting to Trump’s remarks.
“While others, including Danes and Americans, are entitled to their opinions, we should not be caught up in the hysteria and external pressures distract us from our path,” he said, adding: “Every day is spent on working to become independent.”