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Trump's territorial claims pose security threat to Greenland — media

Trump stated on January 7 that Greenland should become part of the US and threatened to slap high trade tariffs on Denmark if it doesn’t give up the island

WASHINGTON, February 5. /TASS/. President Donald Trump’s statements on the need to include Greenland in the US should be considered a threat, Jens Frederik Nielsen, Chairman of Greenland's Democratic Party, told the Washington Post.

This is "a threat to our political independence," Nielsen said, as quoted by the newspaper. "We must defend ourselves," he urged.

The MP delivered his speech at a meeting of the Greenlandic parliament, which passed a law prohibiting foreign financing of political parties and their youth divisions. According to the newspaper, the law aims to safeguard against Trump's attempts to influence the future of the Arctic island.

Trump stated on January 7 that Greenland should become part of the US and threatened to slap high trade tariffs on Denmark if it doesn’t give up the island. He suggested during his first presidential term that the US could buy Greenland. Both Greenlandic and Danish officials dismissed the proposal.

Greenland is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Treaty, agreeing that the US will defend the island from external aggression. The island hosts a US base, Pituffik Space Base, which plays a role in the missile warning system and surveillance of the Arctic region.