Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Denmark is at a "crucial moment" due to threats by United States President Donald Trump to take over Greenland, the British newspaper The Guardian reports, adding that Frederiksen accused the US of potentially turning its back on NATO.
Speaking at a party leaders' debate at a political rally today, the Danish prime minister said her country "is at a crossroads."
Her statements come ahead of a crucial week in increasingly strained relations between Denmark, Greenland and the US, during which the Danish and Greenland foreign ministers, Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motsfeld, are scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"We are at a crossroads and this is a fateful moment. The stakes are higher than they seem at first glance, because if what we are experiencing from the Americans means that they are truly turning their backs on the Western alliance, turning their backs on our cooperation within NATO by threatening an ally, which we have never experienced before, then everything will come to a standstill," Frederiksen said.
On Friday, Trump said the US would take action regarding Greenland "whether they like it or not."
"We're going to do something about Greenland, either the nice way or the hard way," Trump said at the time.
His administration has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of military force – despite Denmark and Greenland being NATO allies.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, along with the leaders of the country's four other political parties, responded with a joint statement saying: "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders. The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders."
At an internal political debate in Nyborg, Frederiksen said she had since met with Trump, but had not discussed Greenland with him since a phone call a year ago. Denmark, she said, was "doing everything it could to make its position prevail in the American reality," but that it must "stand firm" on its position on Greenland.
"There will be many moments in our time where you can only choose between right and wrong, and this is one of those moments," Frederiksen said.
Describing the current situation between the long-time allies as a "conflict over Greenland," she said: "We have received tremendous support from NATO member states."
Meanwhile, at a national conference on people and defense in Selen, in northwest Sweden, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson publicly supported neighboring Denmark.
The US, he said, should thank Denmark for its long-standing loyalty, instead of directing "threatening rhetoric" towards Denmark and Greenland.
He also condemned the US attack on Venezuela, saying it violated international law and "risked encouraging other countries to act in a similar manner."
Sweden announced today that it will invest around 15 billion Swedish kronor (1,399 billion euros) in strengthening territorial air defense capabilities.
"The world as we know it continues to shake. Take it seriously, but don't panic. We shouldn't be afraid, but we need to be prepared," Kristerson said.
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