KANGERLUSSUAQ, Greenland (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday confirmed that the United States does not seek to buy Greenland, after then-President Donald Trump had proposed buying the island, sparking diplomatic fallout.
Sitting beside Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, Greenland’s premier, Mute Egede, and Foreign Minister Pele Broberg during a news conference, Blinken confirmed to a reporter it was “correct” that the United States does not seek to buy the country.
Blinken was visiting Greenland after attending a meeting of the Arctic Council in Iceland, which he said was a signal of Washington’s desire to enhance ties with “our Arctic partners, Greenland and Denmark.”
Trump and one of his economic advisers confirmed in 2019 that Trump had discussed the possibility of purchasing Greenland, the world’s largest island and an autonomous Danish territory.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen fired back at the time that Greenland was not for sale and called the suggestion “absurd.”
Broberg said on Wednesday there was speculation about Greenland because of its strategic importance but said Blinken’s visit was “not considered a real estate deal.”
“A real estate deal means land with nothing on it, nobody on it. Secretary Blinken has made it clear that he’s here for the people living in the Arctic, for the people living in Greenland,” said Broberg.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; additional reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Leslie Adler)
