Starmer Backs Denmark Over Trump's Remarks About Greenland
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has publicly backed Denmark and Greenland after Donald Trump once again suggested the US could take control of the Arctic territory, saying its future must not be decided by anyone else.
Speaking after the US president said “we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security”, Starmer was clear in his response. “Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else,” he said, adding in a separate interview: “I stand with her and she's right about the future of Greenland,” referring to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who had told Trump to stop threatening Greenland.
Trump’s remarks have caused concern in Denmark, particularly after a US military operation over the weekend captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, with Trump also saying Washington would “run” Venezuela until a “proper transition” takes place.
Danish and Greenlandic leaders have strongly rejected any suggestion that Greenland could be taken over by the US. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen dismissed the idea outright, saying “that's enough now” and calling US control of the island a “fantasy”. Frederiksen said the US had “no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom” and urged Washington to stop making threats against a close ally.
While Starmer has taken a firm line on Greenland, his language has been more cautious over the US action in Venezuela. Asked whether the operation broke international law, he said: “The US will have to justify the action it has taken,” stressing that Britain would always defend international law. He also said there was “an illegitimate president who has now been removed”, adding that he hoped it would lead to a peaceful and democratic transition.
That approach has drawn criticism at home. Several Labour MPs, along with opposition party leaders, have accused the government of failing to condemn what they see as a breach of international law. Emily Thornberry, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, described the US strikes as “not a legal action” and warned of “international anarchy”.
Internationally, most EU countries, as well as Canada and Norway, have called for international law to be respected. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also criticised the US move, saying he was “deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected”.
Starmer said it was ultimately for the US to explain its actions in Venezuela, but on Greenland his message was clear: the decision belongs only to Greenland and Denmark.
