US ambassador says Trump rules out using force to seize Greenland

Oslo – US President Donald Trump has ruled out using military force to seize Greenland, said US Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery on Thursday (21 May) at the opening of a new, larger US consulate building in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Responding to a question from KNR, Greenland’s broadcaster, about whether the US was still seeking to seize Greenland, Howery stated: ‘The President has ruled out the use of force. The future of Greenland is something that must be decided by the people of Greenland.’ Trump previously refused to rule out taking military action to seize Greenland, an autonomous region within the Kingdom of Denmark. On Thursday, the US officially opened the expanded consulate building in central Nuuk. According to KNR, no Greenland government officials attended the ceremony, amid tensions in Greenland-US relations. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen had previously said he would not attend the event, while Naaja H. Nathanielsen, Greenland’s representative in the Danish Parliament, also declined the invitation. In addition, no Danish government officials attended the ceremony.