Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reiterated that the territory is "not for sale" after U.S. President Donald Trump again set his eyes on it.
Speaking during the NATO summit in Turkey, Frederiksen said "we "hope that all, including all allies will respect the Greenlandic people's right for self-determination."
"We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory," the PM added. "But one of the reasons why we have built NATO, many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other."
The remarks followed those of Trump, who said Greenland is "very important" for the U.S. and not for Denmark. "We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States," he added.
Authorities from Denmark and Greenland have sharply criticized Trump for the intention to take over the country. Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in April that many of the Danish semi-autonomous territory's residents "don't feel safe" as a result of the statements.
Speaking to NBC News, Nielsen said Trump's rhetoric is "an unacceptable pressure to put on the Greenlandic people." "A lot of people don't feel safe," he said, adding, "Some have been scared. Now it's turning into anger," he added.
Asked if he still believes the U.S. could use force to get concessions from Denmark and the island, especially considering the operation that captured Venezuela's former authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, he said "of course."
"The Greenlandic people, a lot of them thought that way: We might be next," Nielsen said. "And I know other countries also think like that."
Different reports have recounted that Denmark has taken Trump's rhetoric seriously. In fact, the country used military drills to disguise actual preparations to resist a potential U.S. invasion earlier this year.
Danish outlet DR claimed that the "Arctic Endurance" drill included an actual deployment of troops with blood reserves and explosives. Urgency levels increased following the capture of Maduro.
Even though Trump did not follow through on the threats to take over Greenland for national security purposes, Denmark and allies did deploy troops in the island in January.
DR claimed that it had access to a military order authorizing the deployment on January 13. "As Trump constantly said he wanted to buy Greenland and then we saw what happened in Venezuela, we had to seriously consider all possible scenarios," a military official told the outlet.
The officer added that they were joined by French, German and Swedish troops joined the drills as well. "There was no ambiguity."
