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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

US territorial ambitions in Denmark: from the Danish West Indies to Greenland

Greenland Donald Trump United States Denmark The United States Washington D.C. Harry Truman Mette Frederiksen NATO Copenhagen
Members of the Danish armed forces practice looking for potential threats during a military drill as Danish, Swedish and Norwegian home guard units together with Danish, German and French troops take part in joint military drills in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, September 17, 2025. © Guglielmo Mangiapane / Reuters

President Donald Trump’s renewed insistence that the United States should "get Greenland" has reopened a diplomatic wound between Washington and Copenhagen, reviving memories of the only time the US successfully purchased Danish territory: the 1917 acquisition of the Danish West Indies.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen responded bluntly on Sunday after Trump said he "absolutely" needed Greenland for US national security.

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