Issued on: 19/01/2026
Video by: FRANCE 24
Despite US President Donald Trump’s insistence on acquiring Greenland, public support for the idea remains low. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of US residents this week showed that fewer than one in five respondents back acquiring Greenland, while a separate CBS poll found that just 14 percent would approve the use of military force to take the island. Instead, many Americans say they want the president to focus on domestic economic pressures, particularly the cost of living. A CNN poll last week found that 58 percent of Americans believe Trump’s first year back in the White House has been a failure, especially on the economy.
Greenland on the Chessboard of U.S. Imperialism
Photograph Source: Inter-rede – CC BY-SA 3.0
On 14 January, a few hours before the historic meeting in Washington between representatives from Greenland and Denmark and their U.S. counterparts, J. D. Vance and Marco Rubio, Denmark and several of its NATO allies reinforced their military presence in Greenland and announced that more reinforcements would follow.
Some interpreted this move as pressure on the Trump Administration before the meeting. But anyone familiar with NATO-Denmark politics would recognise that appeasement with the empire is the more likely explanation.
At the Washington meeting, the U.S. reiterated its firm demand for “having Greenland”: ““It is clear that the president wants to conquer Greenland,”” declared the Danish foreign minister after the meeting. The parties agreed to establish a “high level working group” in an effort to contain the crisis.
But the crisis continues, and its magnitude is huge.
The reality is that for over a year, the nearly 57,000 Greenlanders and their vast island have been turned into a bargaining chip, a pawn to be moved at will on the great chessboard of U.S. imperialism.
Trump has repeatedly stated that the U.S. seeks to control and own Greenland, by military means if necessary. The brutally effective aggression against Venezuela on January 3 and the kidnapping of the country’s head of state and his wife have erased any doubt that the White House administration is capable of putting Trump’s words into action.
The threat is imminent, and it is felt acutely among the Greenlandic people. The population is stuck in a vice, and the country’s politicians must fight hour by hour simply to get a seat at the table and be heard., Not only by the U.S., but also by Denmark.
Greenland, or Kalaallit Nunaat, has been inhabited for 4500 years, and its people are linked to the Inuit communities across the Arctic. It is the world’s largest island, with an area larger than France, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Belgium combined. It became a Danish colony with the establishment of the state-owned Royal Greenland Trading Company in 1774. The Royal Greenland Trading Company functioned as the de facto colonial administration until the early 1900s, when trade and administration were separated. During this period, Danish companies extracted various minerals, including cryolite, iron, zinc, lead and silver.
The colonial era formally ended in 1953, but political equality with Denmark did not follow. Following a referendum, so-called home rule was introduced in 1979, which was replaced in June 2009 by the current status of self-government. Under self-government, Greenlanders hold the rights to the island’s subsoil and the minerals found there. However, foreign and security policies remain decided in Denmark, which is why Greenland is considered NATO territory.
Greenland is not a member of the European Union. In a 1982 referendum, 53 percent of the Greenlandic people voted to leave the European Economic Community, now the EU. Today, Greenland is classified as one of the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories.
In 1951, a secret agreement between the U.S. government and Denmark’s envoy to the United States granted U.S. military involvement in Greenland. The agreement was highly controversial and in detriment to official Danish policies at the time. Nevertheless, it remains in force today and has been repeatedly confirmed. In practice, it grants unlimited U.S. military rights over Greenland.
Thus, for decades, the U.S. has maintained several military facilities in Greenland. The history of these facilities includes forced evictions of Inuit families in 1953, the crash of an American B-52 plane carrying four atomic bombs in 1968, and other harms inflicted on the local population.
The Danish government repeatedly states that Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and is not for sale. But in reality, Denmark has been selling off Greenland to the U.S. for decades. “We already have a defence agreement between the Kingdom and the United States today, which gives the United States wide access to Greenland,” the Danish Prime Minister stated in an official statement earlier this week.
This raises the question: Why does the Trump Administration seek an annexation of Greenland, when the U.S. empire already holds extensive rights over Greenland? The answer lies in a new security strategy and the demand for unquestioned and unlimited control over oil, control over minerals, and military dominance.
Greenland possesses at least 25 of the 34 minerals designated as “critical raw materials” by the European Commission. Greenland has significant deposits of rare earths, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, diamonds, iron ore, titanium, tungsten and uranium. Trump wants U.S. companies, many of which have invested heavily in his re-election, to have unfettered access to Greenland’s mineral deposit resources.
Moreover, Greenland’s geographic position near the Arctic is important. Control over northern sea routes, such as the Northeast Passage, is becoming increasingly important as climate change advances. A fully controlled, militarised and rearmed Greenland is also intended to serve as an advanced base against both Russia and China. Beyond the prospect of super-profits, keeping socialist China far away from Greenland is a strategic goal for both the U.S. and Denmark.
Until a few years ago, Greenland was undergoing a process of independent decision-making and freeing itself from neo-colonialism. But the current era of intensified imperialism emanating from the White House has caused a serious setback to Greenland’s ability to determine its own destiny. The threats and pressures are enormous.
It is so important to hold on to the principle of right to self-determination. How Greenland organises its society, with whom it collaborates, and what alliances it enters to realise its self-determination in practice should be determined solely in Nuuk.
Produced by Globetrotter and No Cold War Perspectives.
Lotte Rørtoft-Madsen is the chair of the Danish Communist Party. She was the editor-in-chief of Arbejderen.
January 19, 2026
By Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic
The largest island in the world, Greenland (that is not green at all but rather covered by white ice), has in recent months and even several years become one of the hottest geopolitical spots and disputes in world politics and international relations. The island, which has been administratively part of the Kingdom of Denmark for two centuries, has seriously caught the eye of the USA, namely its Trump administration, which firmly claims that the island simply must be under direct control and administration of the USA for its national security, otherwise it will be “swallowed up” by Russia and China (whose [Russian] submarines already operate around the island). The latest statements by NATO leaders support the idea of “Russian occupation of Greenland” as the reason for the increased presence of (small and meager) NATO soldiers on the island, but in essence, this position advocates the transfer of the island under American administration.
Greenland politically belongs to Denmark, i.e., the European Union, and in a military-political sense to the NATO pact. Geographically, it belongs to the North American continent and is closest to Canada, not the USA, and far away from Denmark. However, in a purely military sense, Greenland has been under the “occupation” of the USA since the summer of 1940 (after Nazi Germany’s overrun of Denmark), and in that context, the island is much more tied to the American, rather than the Danish, i.e., European administration. If, and this is in fact more or less a fait accompli, Greenland does indeed belong to the USA in one form or another, it will only be a formal recognition of the real state of affairs since the time of World War II up to today.
Nevertheless, what is Greenland, and what are its basic characteristics?
Geographical and military-technical characteristics of the island
Greenland (Grønland) is an Arctic island, the largest in the world, located off the northeastern part of the North American continent, next to Canada. It has an area of 2,130,800 sq km, with coastal islands of 2,175,600 sq km, and a population of almost 55,000 (the area of Europe is about 10,180,000 sq km). Greenland is politically part of the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark with a certain degree of local autonomy. The island is mostly in the Arctic Circle, with its northernmost point 708 km from the North Pole. It is about 2,650 km long from north to south, and about 1,300 km wide from east to west. The island generally rises steeply from the surrounding seas, bays, and straits into highland terrain and over 3,000 m. altitude.
The island has a very rugged coastline with a large number of fjords. The eastern coast, despite its great ruggedness, is practically inaccessible for the most part due to icebergs. The interior of Greenland, together with the ice sheet, forms a plateau between 2000 and 3000 meters above sea level. It is estimated that about 1,860,900 sq. km. of the island’s territory is permanently covered with ice, with a thickness of between 500 and 1500 m., and only about 13% of Greenland’s surface is free of ice, and in the coastal zone it is up to 150 m. wide. The highest peak is located on Mount Forel, 3440 m.
The Greenland Sea is the main link between the Arctic and the western Atlantic. It is of great importance for Arctic fishing and whaling. Its northern part is mostly covered with ice, and its southern part is covered with icebergs or floes.
Probably the greatest geopolitical value of the island of Greenland is that whoever holds it in their hands essentially controls access to the North Atlantic.
The climate in Greenland is of the Arctic type. The southern part of the west coast is the most favorable for life because it is reached by the warmer Atlantic current, and where the average January temperature is about minus 14 degrees C, and July about plus 8 degrees C. In the interior of the island, the temperature can reach minus 50 degrees C.
It is important to note, at least from a military-economic point of view, that the seas, bays, and straits around Greenland freeze over except in its southwestern part, i.e., these waters are covered with icebergs as well as mountains broken off from glaciers, which descend from the interior of the mainland into the sea. Along the northern coast, the sea is constantly under ice. There are no land communications on the island. The ports in the south of the island are of insignificant capacity, at least in military terms. In Greenland, dog sledding on land and boats at sea are the only means of transport. However, in terms of air traffic, Greenland is in a very important position because the shortest flight routes from North America to the northern parts of Europe and Western Siberia pass through it.
The economy of Greenland
The current economy of the island is very poor, i.e., insignificant, because the main economic activity of the islanders is limited to fishing, which is not as profitable as in the cases of Iceland or Norway. It is mainly about catching cod, whale, seal, walrus, and, on the mainland, bear hunting for fur. A small number of sheep and goats are raised on the island, while vegetables and potatoes are grown sparingly in the southern coastal belt.
However, the island is rich in certain natural minerals. There are deposits of cryolite, copper, lead, graphite, and uranium. Greenland has the largest mines of cryolite in the world, which is used in the aluminum industry. Cryolite ore is mined in the southwestern part of the island and exported. Graphite and coal are mined in smaller quantities, while lead and zinc ores have been exploited since 1956. It is claimed that there are large quantities of oil and especially natural gas in the depths of the island. In this context, Greenland can be considered a part of the Arctic that has been proven to lie on huge reserves of natural gas and probably other energy sources, which would be the main reason for the international race for the largest island in the world.
Population and Constitution
The indigenous population of Greenland is of Inuit origin, who have settled mainly in its southern (more domesticated) part along the coast. There are a small number of ethnic Danes as well as US citizens who are stationed at US military bases, especially at the large Tula naval and air base on the northwestern coast of the island. The capital of Greenland is Gothop/Nuuk, which in 1965 had a population of almost 4,000 but today has almost 20,000. It is also the northernmost capital city in the world.
Greenland is, according to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark of June 5th, 1953, an integral province of the Kingdom of Denmark with special autonomy (the same as the Faroe Islands) since 2009. Greenland has its own separate (autonomous) flag and local administration. The island sends two representatives to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark. The executive power on the island is exercised by the Landsråt (Country Council), which consists of 13 members elected from among the inhabitants of Greenland. The President of the Landsråt is appointed by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Short history of the island
The island was discovered in 982 by the Vikings, and after that, the southwestern coast of Greenland was settled by the Normans (Vikings), but their settlements later disappeared. New settlements from Europe began at the end of the 18th century. The settlements in southern Greenland came under the rule of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1814, and the entire island was annexed to it in 1921. When the Germans occupied Denmark on April 9th, 1940, by decision of US President F. D. Roosevelt, military units of the US Army landed on Greenland, where they remained throughout World War II, and to this day.
Denmark is one of the 12 founding members of the NATO pact in 1949, as is the US. The United States has built the Thule air and naval base in the northwestern part of the island and the Narssarssuaq air base in the southern part. By a mutual defense agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark of April 27th, 1951, the United States was granted the right to use these two military bases, which also serve as air traffic. East of Thule, a nuclear power plant was built by the United States in an agreement with Denmark, and a long-range air intelligence radar system was also built, which is linked to the northern parts of Canada. In other words, the capital military-economic infrastructure of the island is built up by the USA, not by Denmark.
The Future of the “Greenland Question“
Realistically, the US will certainly take over Greenland from Denmark, the only question is whether by July 4th or by the November 3rd, 2026, US elections. There are two practical scenarios for this takeover:
1) Either by using soft power, i.e., bribery, purchases, political blackmail, and/or economic sanctions;
2) Or by using hard power, i.e., direct military intervention or occupation and annexation of the island under the excuse of security or whatever geopolitical reasons.
The first option involves pro-American propaganda among the inhabitants of Greenland, who number as many as the inhabitants of one major street in New York. They will be promised a better future and life within the United States, and especially a higher standard of living. The Americans will promise large investments in the exploitation of mineral and other natural resources on the island, from which the inhabitants of Greenland will directly benefit, which was by no means the case while Greenland was under Danish rule, because it is well known that the Danish authorities did not invest much in the economy of Greenland.
The island is, by the way, one of the poorest regions of the European Union in terms of infrastructure, economy, and living standards. Therefore, it will not be very difficult for the Trump administration to indoctrinate the majority of the island’s inhabitants and bribe them with economic propaganda, especially if we know that there is already a solid pro-American core in Greenland. After its propaganda work, the soft power would end with a general vote on the island for its independence, which would be declared with all possible electoral manipulations under the supervision of the “international (pro-American) community”. Therefore, the transition of Greenland from Denmark to the US administration would take place according to formally “democratic” principles. The amount of money that Denmark would receive from the US for this “democratic” transition from Denmark to the US will probably never be known.
Let us not forget that Trump has already threatened European countries that oppose his policy of annexing Greenland with the introduction of tariffs of 10% to begin with, and if the countries in question do not collaborate, successively higher and higher tariffs on the export of their goods to the US market. This moment is extremely important because the governments of European countries will have a strong argument before their citizens as to why they are not more resolutely defending the territorial integrity of Denmark. Such blackmail is an extreme variant of the application of soft power.
The second scenario involves the direct use of military force in Greenland, which would be formally justified by security reasons. For the US to “occupy” the island, they would need one destroyer and one battalion of Marines, just in case. There are already two US military bases on the island anyway. In the event of an American landing on the island, the “international community” would not take any concrete action, and the protests would be reduced to a boring repetition of the story about the violation of “international law”.
Let us recall that the USA has a long tradition of military aggression against other states that violate this right, totaling around 22 or 33 since 1945, including directly instigating coups d’état and military coups. A classic example is the military occupation of the independent island state in the Caribbean Sea – Grenada, in October 1983, under the administration of President Ronald Reagan, under whose administration the President of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, was kidnapped in 1989 (anyway, a long-time CIA collaborator).
The “international community” has not taken any concrete action against the Israeli genocide in Gaza or the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro, and it will not do so in the case of the military occupation of Greenland. Only Denmark will protest for a while, but it will soon calm down. Great Britain, Poland, and the Baltic states will probably give direct support to the occupation, while the EU and NATO bureaucracy will try to cover up the whole matter as soon as possible in order to consolidate their members against their main enemy – “aggressor” Russia.
The current deployment of bizarre EU/NATO military troops to Greenland is primarily an unproductive demonstration of “force” against the “Russian and Chinese occupation” of the island, not a “force” to contain the US real occupation of Greenland. The threats by Washington and Paris to leave NATO are of the nature of diplomatic bickering, i.e., moving the ball from one court to another. It is clear to anyone who understands even a little about international relations that these are primarily empty phrases and empty rhetoric aimed at scoring political points on both sides, primarily against Russia.
The price of transfer (?) and possible consequences in international relations
According to estimates by some Western experts, and as reported by the American television NBC TV Network, the value of Greenland today is up to $ 700 billion, including its geopolitical position. The interest of the United States to simply buy the island for cash dates back to 1946, when US President Harry Truman offered $ 100 million in gold for it. However, this information was not learned until 1991. For comparison, in 1999, the American CIA estimated the total value of the southern province of Serbia, Kosovo, at $ 500 billion.
In essence, at least from a military and geopolitical perspective, the transfer of Greenland to the US will not fundamentally change anything, as the island has been de facto under US control since June 1940, and the complete transfer of the island from Danish to US hands would be an insignificant operation within the framework of the NATO pact.
The only question is, who is next in line to be occupied for the sake of US national security?
Finally, in this whole policy of transferring Greenland to the US, the biggest real winners will be China and Russia, and the only loser, along with Denmark, will be the European Union. The diplomatic moves of Beijing and Moscow on this issue clearly indicate that they are de facto staying on the sidelines, with the US award to Russia likely being a solution to the “Ukrainian Question” according to the Russian will, while the award to China remains a secret, as in many other similar cases so far.Personal disclaimer: The author writes for this publication in a private capacity, which is unrepresentative of anyone or any organization except for his own personal views. Nothing written by the author should ever be conflated with the editorial views or official positions of any other media outlet or institution. The author of the text does not have any moral, political, scientific, material, or legal responsibility for the views expressed in the article.
Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic is an ex-university professor and a Research Fellow at the Center for Geostrategic Studies in Belgrade, Serbia.
Trump Taking Greenland Would Be the End of NATO – senior analyst
The US president’s push to acquire the island follows a “long and complex historical tradition of American territorial expansion,” Mats Nilsson has told RT
Protesters on City Square during a protest in support of Greenland on January 17, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark. © Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images
US President Donald Trump’s acquisition of Greenland without Denmark’s consent would have far-reaching consequences for NATO itself, Mats Nilsson, a senior analyst at the Dissident Club, told RT on Sunday.
“It would be another nail in NATO’s coffin,” he warned. “If the United States were to grab Greenland against the wishes of Denmark, the idea of a united NATO would effectively collapse.”
Nilsson argued that Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland follows a “long and complex historical tradition of American territorial expansion,” rooted in the ideology of ‘manifest destiny’ and imperial thinking.
He stressed, however, that such thinking is fundamentally incompatible with modern international law.
Trump’s actions were legally very incoherent and very political, naive for today’s setting. It might have worked well in the 19th century and early 20th century, but since the mid-20th century, territorial sovereignty is inseparable from the will of the people who inhabit it.
According to Nilsson, any change in Greenland’s status “can only legally come from a process led and approved by the Greenlandic people themselves, not from a bilateral sale or purchase by the United States.”
Over the last weeks, Trump has once again declared that Washington would obtain the territory “the easy way” or “the hard way,” insisting the US needs Greenland for “national security.” On Saturday, he also announced tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, saying the measures would remain in place until a “complete and total purchase” of the Arctic island is achieved.
European NATO members have largely refrained from direct public confrontation, but behind the scenes, resistance is mounting. This week, Denmark, which retains responsibility for Greenland’s foreign and defense policy, coordinated with several allies to send small contingents of troops to the island ahead of the bloc’s Arctic Endurance exercises.
Both Danish and Greenlandic authorities have rejected any prospect of ceding the island, insisting that its future must be decided by its people, who voted in 2008 to retain autonomous status within the Kingdom of Denmark.
