Stephen Miller‘s continued threats to annex Greenland are becoming uncomfortably serious for European allies in the aftermath of the Venezuelan invasion.
Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, told CNN that there is “no need to even think or talk about” possible military action to take the Danish territory because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
“The real question is — what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland?” Miller said. “What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?”
“The U.S. is the power of Nato,” he continued. “For the U.S. to secure the Arctic region to protect and defend Nato and Nato interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the US. And so that’s a conversation that we’re going to have as a country. That’s a process we’re going to have as a community of nations.”
Seven major European powers released a joint statement following Miller’s interview in which they affirmed, “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
The tone of the message was conciliatory, however, emphasizing the strides made by European members of NATO to increase Arctic security infrastructure in the region — the ostensible reason for Trump’s bid for the island.
“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark — including Greenland — is part of NATO,” the leaders wrote.
Signatories included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The leaders continued, “Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who also signed the Tuesday statement, said Monday that a U.S. operation against Greenland would be the death of NATO.
US HAS ‘NO RIGHT’ TO ANNEX GREENLAND, DANISH PRIME MINISTER SAYS, URGING END TO THREATS
“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” Frederiksen said in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2. “That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.”
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, a multiterritorial sovereign state composed of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and metropolitan Denmark. The territories are united under the Danish monarch, currently King Frederik X.