Denmark won't bend to Trump's pressure over Greenland, prime minister says
OSLO (Reuters) -Denmark will not yield to "unacceptable" pressure from the United States for control of semi-autonomous Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday, warning Greenlanders' right to self-determination was at stake.
President Donald Trump has said he wants the United States to take over the minerals-rich and strategically-located Arctic island for reasons of national and international security, and has not ruled out the use of force to do so.
"The world order we've built through generations is being challenged like never before," Frederiksen said in a speech for National Day.
"In recent months Greenland and Denmark have been subjected to unacceptable pressure from our closest ally," she added, referring to the United States.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on a visit to the island in March accused fellow NATO member Denmark of not doing a good job keeping Greenland safe and suggested the United States would better protect the territory.
Vance's visit followed an election victory by Greenland's Demokraatit party, which favours a slow approach to independence rather than the quicker departure proposed by some others.
Leaders of Denmark and Greenland have said only Greenlanders can decide the territory's future, and the Danish constitution gives the island the right to seek independence.
Fundamental principles in the transatlantic relationship such as national sovereignty, the respect for borders and people's right to self-determination are now at stake, Frederiksen said.
"But we don't bend. We Danes are not like that," she added.
Denmark's King Frederik, who is popular in Greenland, visited the island in late April in a show of unity amid the diplomatic stand-off with Trump.
A 1951 agreement between the United States and Denmark gives the U.S. the right to construct military bases in Greenland as long as Denmark and Greenland are notified.
The island, whose capital Nuuk is closer to New York than Copenhagen, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow and the mining sector has seen very limited U.S. investment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Macron to push for ban on social media for under-15s after school stabbing
PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union regulation to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, the latest such violent attack that left the country reeling. Macron said in an interview late on Tuesday that he hoped to see results within the next few months. "If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait," he told the France 2 public broadcaster, hours after a fatal stabbing at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne. Police questioned a 14-year-old student on Tuesday over the knifing of a 31-year-old school aide during a bag search for weapons. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament the incident was not an isolated case. Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people. Writing on social media platform X after the interview, Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it," he wrote. Macron's comments come amid a wave of measures in countries around the world aimed at curbing social media use among children. Australia last year approved a social media ban for under-16s after an emotive public debate, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech. Although most social media do not allow children under 13 to use their platforms, a report by Australia's online safety regulator found children easily bypass such restrictions.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US cities brace for more protests as parts of Los Angeles placed under curfew
By Brad Brooks, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Dietrich Knauth LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Several U.S. cities braced for protests on Wednesday against President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids, as parts of the country's second largest city Los Angeles spent the night under curfew in an effort to quell five days of unrest. The Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard this week, ahead of planned protests. Protesters and police in Austin clashed on Monday. Trump's extraordinary measures of sending National Guard and Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles has sparked a national debate on the use of military on U.S. soil and pitted the Republican president against California's Democrat governor. "This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a video address on Tuesday. "He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. ... Democracy is under assault." Newsom, widely seen as preparing for a presidential run in 2028, and the state of California sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested Newsom should be arrested. Hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from Trump, after he also ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard to the city. Marines and National Guard are to be used in the protection of government personnel and buildings and not in police action. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the deployments were not necessary as police could manage the protest, the majority of which have been peaceful, and limited to about five streets. However, due to looting and violence at night she imposed a curfew over one square mile of the city's downtown, starting Tuesday night. The curfew will last several days. Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and "mass arrests" were initiated. Police earlier said that 197 people had already been arrested on Tuesday - more than double the total number of arrests to date. Democratic leaders have raised concerns over a national crisis in what has become the most intense flashpoint yet in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally, and then crack down on opponents who take to the streets in protest. Trump, voted back into office last year largely for his promise to deport undocumented immigrants, used a speech honoring soldiers on Tuesday to defend his decision. He told troops at the army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina: "Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness." 'FULL-BLOWN ASSAULT' "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags," Trump said, adding his administration would "liberate Los Angeles." Demonstrators have waved the flags of Mexico and other countries in solidarity for the migrants rounded up in a series of intensifying raids. Homeland Security said on Monday its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. Protests have also taken place in other cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago, where demonstrators shouted at and scuffled with officers. Some protesters climbed onto the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, while others chanted that ICE should be abolished. Texas Governor Abbott said late on Tuesday that he will deploy the National Guard, which "will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order." "Texas National Guard will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest," Abbott posted on X. South Texas organizations are expected to hold anti-ICE rallies on Wednesday and Saturday, CNN reported local media as saying. About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles (50 km) south of Los Angeles on Tuesday, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a U.S. official said. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect personnel, saying there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. "Protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighborhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law," Bonta said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday posted photos on X of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers on an immigration raid. Trump administration officials have vowed to redouble the immigration raids in response to the street protests. The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked President George H.W. Bush to help respond to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Finland again summons Russian diplomat over a suspected airspace violation
HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it had summoned Russia's top diplomat to Helsinki over a suspected June 10 violation of Finnish airspace, the second such event in under three weeks. NATO member Finland on Tuesday said it believed a Russian military aircraft entered its airspace off the coast of Porvoo in the southern part of the Nordic country, and that the Finnish Border Guard was investigating the incident. "The foreign ministry has invited Russia's acting head of mission to speak on the issue today," the Finnish ministry said in a statement to Reuters.
