President Trump renewed his call for the United States to have control of Greenland soon after arriving in Turkey for the NATO summit, reopening a fight that badly frayed relations with allies earlier this year.
“Greenland doesn’t help Denmark, Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Greenland is a self-governing, semiautonomous territory owned by Denmark. Trump has repeatedly argued that U.S. control over Greenland is necessary for global security and countering Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic.
“That should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” he said. “And when they wouldn’t go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia — we don’t have to spend any money.”