‘Not some piece of ice’: Greenland hits back at Trump insult

PM Nielsen calls Greenland a proud nation seeking to maintain global order, after US president calls it ‘piece of ice’.Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has called on NATO allies to stand together to defend international law as he pushed back against United States President Donald Trump’s latest comments about the Arctic island.Trump vented his frustration with NATO’s unwillingness to get involved in the war on Iran that he launched with Israel, saying on Wednesday in a social media post that the military alliance was not around when needed and would not be there “if we need them again. REMEMBER Greenland, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4No snow, no ski season: Greenland’s warmest January shuts Nuuk resortlist 2 of 4Trump’s Push for Greenlandlist 3 of 4Danish PM says more Greenland talks due after meeting US’s Marco Rubiolist 4 of 4Canada, France to open consulates in Greenland amid ongoing US threatsend of listNielsen on Thursday rejected the characterisation.“We are not some piece of ice. We are a proud population of 57,000 people, working every single day as good global citizens in full respect for all our allies,” he told the Reuters news agency.Nielsen underlined the importance of maintaining the post-war geopolitical order, including the NATO defence alliance and globally respected international law.“Those things are being challenged now, and I think all allies should stand together to try to maintain them. I hope that will happen,” he said.Diplomatic talksNATO allies had already been scrambling earlier this year to find ways to keep the alliance together after Trump revived his push to seize Greenland from Denmark, a fellow NATO member.The White House in January said Trump was weighing the use of military force in Greenland, leading Germany, France and other European nations to send small contingents of troops to the island in a message of solidarity and deterrence.