Nuuk, Greenland: Prime Minister of Greenland Jens Frederik Nielsen has strongly reacted to the offensive comment of US President Donald Trump by appealing to NATO members to stick together and defend both international law and Trump’s mockery of Greenland, describing it as a mere “block of ice.”
According to Reuters, in an official statement, Nielsen dismissed Trump’s comments, saying that Greenland is not merely “a block of ice,” but a sovereign nation inhabited by 57,000 people working hard every day to be a responsible international citizen. The prime minister stated the need for preserving the defense alliance of NATO as well as international laws which are coming under severe criticism lately.
“I am not a block of ice,” Nielsen stated, adding that Greenland honours its partners and works in cooperation with the rest of the world.
The prime minister further appealed to NATO members to join hands and stand strong for these important issues. “Let’s hope NATO will stay united against such pressures,” Nielsen said.
This conflict is rooted in a controversial remark by President Trump that highlighted his annoyance at the inability of NATO to support the US in its position regarding the Iran dispute because, according to Trump, NATO was nowhere to be found when it mattered the most. In addition to this, Trump referred to Greenland as a “badly mismanaged ice cube.”
In earlier remarks, Trump gained media attention by demanding that Greenland be purchased, an offer which was swiftly declined by Denmark and NATO together.
