Danish prime minister says idea of selling Greenland is “absurd”

Greenland is not for sale and the idea of selling it to the United States is absurd, Denmark’s prime minister said on Sunday after an economic adviser to President Donald Trump confirmed the US interest in buying country.

“Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told the newspaper Sermitsiaq during a visit to Greenland.

Trump confirmed to reporters on Sunday that he had recently discussed the possibility, though he said such a move was not high priority.

“We are good allies with Denmark, we protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world, and the concept came up,” Trump said in New Jersey before heading to Washington. “Strategically it’s interesting, and we would be interested, but we will talk with them a little bit.”

“It’s not number one on the burner, I can tell you that,” Trump said.

Trump is due to visit Copenhagen early next month, when the Arctic will be on the agenda in meetings with Frederiksen and Prime Minister Kim Kielsen of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday initially confirmed media reports earlier in the week that Trump had privately discussed with his advisers the idea of buying Greenland.

“I don’t want to predict an outcome. I’m just saying the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look at a Greenland purchase,” Kudlow told Fox News.

Kudlow said the situation was “developing” and noted that US President Harry Truman also had wanted to buy Greenland.

“And Denmark owns Greenland, Denmark is an ally, Greenland is a strategic place, up there. And they’ve got a lot of valuable minerals,” Kudlow added.

A defence treaty between Denmark and the United States dating back to 1951 gives the US military rights over the Thule Air Base in northern Greenland.