Why Trump wants to acquire Greenland as European nations send in troops amid escalating tensions

Donald Trump continues to speak about the US acquiring Greenland like he won't take their very clear 'no' for an answer as he pledged that he was 'going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not'.

The US has made it clear it is set on acquiring the world's largest island, which is currently a self-governing territory of Denmark, and has not ruled out military means which would mean invading and conquering Greenland.

Such a move would be a devastating blow to the NATO alliance as both the US and Denmark are in NATO, and if the US, which is the lynchpin of the alliance, starts attacking territories of other member states then it's all going to fall apart.

Meanwhile, Russian officials have warned that the US seizing Greenland 'will be the beginning of the end of the world' as senator for part of occupied Ukraine Dmitry Rogozin claimed that if they take the territory, the Americans may believe they have achieved 'nuclear superiority over Russia and China'.

With all this tension over a country of fewer than 60,000 inhabitants why does Trump even want Greenland?

Donald Trump said the US would be in charge of Greenland 'whether they like it or not', they've been clear they would not like it (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Why Donald Trump wants Greenland

His stated reason is that it would lead to 'world peace' as Trump has said the US acquiring the world's largest island is a matter of 'national security' and 'international security' as he claimed that if the Americans don't do it then 'Russia or China will'.

Greenland's geographic location makes it an important place for protecting North Atlantic shipping and the melting of the Arctic ice is opening up new potential shipping lanes.

China declared itself a 'near-Arctic state' in 2018 and says it wants to create a 'Polar Silk Road', while Russia has said it will increase its military presence in the Arctic.

The US already has military personnel stationed in Greenland but the Trump administration has claimed Denmark is not doing enough to protect these routes and that the US needs the territory in order to do it themselves.

CNBC reports that occupying Greenland would boost the US attempts to build a 'Golden Dome' missile defence system, which is one of Trump's main policies and is supposed to protect them from missile attacks.

The US already has a base in Greenland, but wants to take it all over (Jim Watson - Pool / Getty Images)

Given Greenland's proximity to Russia if it became controlled by the US, it would allow them to station missile defences closer.

There are also significant mineral resources in Greenland with oil, gas and rare earth elements, many of them untapped due to the difficulty in extracting them from the harsh climate and cold conditions.

Several attempts to mine the mineral resources of Greenland have largely been unsuccessful as environmental protections are in place and there is a lack of infrastructure.

Michael Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, previously suggested: "This is about critical minerals. This is about natural resources."

Despite what his former advisor said, Trump has insisted his interest in Greenland is 'not for minerals'.

Danish and Greenlander foreign ministers Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt attended talks with the US which ended in a 'fundamental disagreement' (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

Greenland's response

Trump has attempted to take over Greenland before, having made an offer to buy it in 2019 during his first term as president which he called 'essentially a real estate deal'.

Greenland has been adamant that it does not want to be taken over by the US and said they are 'not for sale', as the leaders of five political parties released a joint statement saying: "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders. The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders."

While it is a territory of Denmark there is an independence movement in Greenland with popular support, though it receives financial subsidies from Denmark which poses an economic question.

Recent talks in Washington between officials from the US, Denmark and Greenland raised a 'fundamental disagreement', namely that the US wants to acquire Greenland and Greenland does not want to be acquired by the US.

Greenlanders have been clear they don't want to be ruled by the US (Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NATO countries send troops

While the US pontificates about trying to take over Greenland and the potential of military action has been threatened, other NATO countries have moved troops to Greenland.

The US base has around 150 personnel and existing agreements would allow them to move more troops there, but they're not the only country that can do that.

Denmark said it was expanding its military presence on Greenland 'in close cooperation with NATO allies', as Germany, Sweden, France and Norway all confirmed they would be sending troops to the world's largest island.

Germany said it was sending a 'reconnaissance team' for 'an exploration mission', while other countries said they would be sending their troops to take part in a training exercise called Operation Arctic Endurance.

Troop numbers being sent to Greenland are low, as CNN reports 13 German personnel are going, while 15 French troops have made the journey.

UK personnel are also meant to be taking part in the exercise.

French official Olivier Poivre d'Arvor said that various countries stationing troops in Greenland would 'show the US that NATO is present'.