US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO summit in Ankara. Trump made remarks that are likely to spark debate about Greenland's status.
Saying "This place should be controlled by the US, not Denmark," Trump argued that this issue has damaged his relations with NATO.
Trump said, "This is what harmed my relationship with NATO, because Greenland doesn't help Denmark. Denmark doesn't spend money to really help Greenland, but this is an important place for the US and it's surrounded by Chinese ships and Russian ships, and that won't be allowed."
Referring to allies' defense spending, the US President said, "We are spending all this money to help them against Russia."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement in June that talks with Denmark and Greenland are continuing on a monthly basis.