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Copenhagen: President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that the United States needed Greenland for "national security" after his appointment of a special envoy to the Danish Arctic island triggered a new spat with Copenhagen.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly said the United States "needs" the resource-rich autonomous territory for security reasons.
Trump on Sunday appointed Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland, prompting anger from Denmark, which summoned the US ambassador.
"We need Greenland for national security. Not for minerals," Trump told a news conference in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
"If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place," he said.
"We need it for national security. We have to have it," the president said, adding that Landry "wanted to lead the charge".
On his appointment, Landry immediately vowed to make the Danish territory "a part of the US".
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen earlier Monday said in a joint statement that Greenland belongs to Greenlanders.
"You cannot annex another country," they said. "We expect respect for our joint territorial integrity."
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he was "deeply angered" by the move and warned Washington to respect Denmark's sovereignty.
The European Union later offered its "full solidarity" to Denmark.
The Danish foreign minister earlier told TV2 television the appointment and statements were "totally unacceptable" and, several hours later, said the US ambassador had been called up to the ministry for an explanation.
"We summoned the American ambassador to the foreign ministry today for a meeting, together with the Greenlandic representative, where we very clearly drew a red line and also asked for an explanation," Lokke Rasmussen told public broadcaster DR in an interview.
