Written by Jasper Ward
(Reuters) – US Congressman Mike Waltz said on Wednesday that Greenland is important to US national security, following comments by US President-elect Donald Trump in which he suggested the United States should take control of the island.
During an interview with Fox News, Waltz, who has been tapped to serve as Trump's national security adviser, was asked about Trump's desire for US control of the Arctic island.
“You have Russia trying to become king of the Arctic, with more than 60 icebreakers, some of which are nuclear-powered,” he said. “We have two, and one just caught fire.”
“It's about critical minerals. It's about natural resources. And with the polar ice caps receding, the Chinese are now taking out icebreakers and pushing there as well. So, it's about oil and gas. That's our goal,” Waltz added. National security.”
Trump, who takes office on January 20, refused on Tuesday to rule out using military or economic action to seize the island, an autonomous region of Denmark. In his first term, Trump suggested that Denmark sell Greenland, but the Danish government rejected this idea.
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede also stated that the island is not for sale.
The Arctic island's government on Wednesday acknowledged the changing security dynamics in the Arctic and said it looked forward to working with the incoming Trump administration and other NATO allies to ensure security and stability in the region.
Greenland, which is part of NATO through Denmark's membership, straddles the shortest route between Europe and North America and is of strategic importance to the US military and ballistic missile early warning system.
