Denmark will not turn over.
The Nordic nation announced on Tuesday it would beef up Greenland's defenses with $1.5 billion in new resources, including two elite dog sled teams, days after President-elect Donald Trump expressed renewed interest in purchasing the Arctic island. did.
Denmark's Defense Minister Trolls Lund Poulsen told the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that the new defense policy was “ironic that it coincides with the announcement of the United States,” adding that Trump's Sunday Truth Social He denied having anything to do with the post.
“For many years we have under-invested in the Arctic, but now we are planning a stronger presence,” he added.
Poulsen said the major defense plan would fund the purchase of two new patrol vessels, two new long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, and send two sled dog teams to the barren, icy island. pointed out that it would be possible.
The Danes have been using teams of thieves to patrol Greenland since World War II.
danish sirius dog sled patrol The “Dog Stars”, or the brightest star in the night sky, are an elite special forces unit of the Danish Navy.
Members of sled dog teams spend months at a time patrolling the Greenlandic wilderness, armed with bolt-action rifles and pistols, but are more likely to encounter polar bears and musk oxen than the people on their patrols. .
In addition to increasing dog sled patrols, Denmark also plans to increase personnel at Greenland's command post and upgrade the island's airport to accommodate F-35 fighter jets, the paper said. BBC.
Poulsen noted that Denmark, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is ready to “cooperate with the United States” to secure Greenland.
President Trump, 78, on Sunday announced his selection of PayPal co-founder Ken Howley as U.S. ambassador to Denmark and expressed a desire to have U.S.-owned Greenland by the end of his second term. .
“For the sake of national security and freedom around the world, the United States feels that ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary,” President Trump said in a statement.
A source close to the president-elect told the Post that Trump is “100% serious” about acquiring Greenland as well as the Panama Canal.
President Trump, who is attracted to Greenland's natural resources and geopolitical relevance, has previously indicated he would like to purchase it in 2019.
At the time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded to President Trump's interest in a deal, saying, “Greenland is not for sale.”
Greenland, with a population of about 56,000, has its own government but is part of Denmark.
