The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted Monday that the U.S. won't take over Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after President Donald Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy to Greenland,
ABC 13 News reports.
Trump's announcement on Sunday that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry would be the U.S. special envoy prompted a new flare-up of tensions over Washington's interest in the vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally. Denmark's foreign minister said in comments to Danish broadcasters that he plans to summon the U.S. ambassador.
"We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a joint statement. "They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security."
Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland," they added in the statement, emailed by Frederiksen's office. "We expect respect for our joint territorial integrity.
