NATO in Crisis as Trump Refuses to Rule Out Force to Seize Strategic Arctic Territory

US President Donald Trump has escalated tensions with a key NATO ally, insisting that the United States must “own” Greenland and refusing to rule out the use of force to secure the territory.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Friday, the President asserted that existing lease agreements for military facilities were insufficient for American national security.

“Countries have to have ownership, and you defend ownership; you don’t defend leases,” Trump said. He warned that the US would achieve control over the island either “the easy way” or “the hard way”.

The White House recently confirmed it is exploring the purchase of the semi-autonomous territory from Denmark.

However, the President’s latest remarks suggest a shift toward a policy of annexation, potentially disregarding the sovereign rights of the Danish government and the Greenlandic people.

The ‘Hard Way’ and the Venezuelan Precedent

During a meeting with oil executives, Trump brushed aside concerns regarding Danish sovereignty.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” he stated. “If we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

The rhetoric follows the recent US-backed overthrow of the president in Venezuela, a point noted by international observers as evidence of the administration’s increasingly assertive foreign policy.

Trump further mocked Denmark’s historical claim to the island, remarked: “The fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land.”