Denmark’s PM says Greenland showdown at ‘decisive moment’

Denmark is ready to defend its values, Mette Frederiksen says, as Trump renews threats to seize the Danish territory.Published On 12 Jan 2026Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said her country faces a “decisive moment” over the future of Greenland after United States President Donald Trump renewed his threats to seize the Arctic territory by force.Speaking ahead of meetings in Washington, DC, from Monday on the global scramble for key raw materials, Frederiksen said that “there is a conflict over Greenland”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How Israel is shifting Gaza’s yellow linelist 2 of 4How volatile is the situation in Iran?list 3 of 4Israeli forces kill one person in series of attacks on southern Lebanonlist 4 of 4Barcelona beat Real Madrid in El Clasico to retain Spanish Super Cupend of list“This is a decisive moment”, with stakes that go beyond the immediate issue of Greenland’s future, Frederiksen said in a debate with other Danish political leaders.She added in a post on Facebook that Denmark was ” ready to defend our values – wherever it is necessary – also in the Arctic”. “We believe in international law and in peoples’ right to self-determination,” she said.Germany and Sweden backed Denmark against Trump’s latest claims to the self-governing Danish territory.Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemned the US’s “threatening rhetoric” after Trump repeated that Washington was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not”.“Sweden, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and several major European countries stand together with our Danish friends,” Kristersson told a defence conference in Salen, in which the US general in charge of NATO took part.Kristersson said a US takeover of mineral-rich Greenland would be “a violation of international law, and risks encouraging other countries to act in exactly the same way”.Germany reiterated its support for Denmark and Greenland ahead of the Washington discussions.