Media: Greenland braces for worst as PM warns of potential US takeover

Greenland’s prime minister has urged the island’s population and authorities to prepare for a potential military invasion, even though such a scenario remains unlikely, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten to take over the territory, Bloomberg reports.

“It’s not likely there will be a military conflict, but it can’t be ruled out,” Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference in the capital, Nuuk, on January 20.

The Greenlandic government plans to form a task force consisting of representatives from all relevant local authorities to help people prepare for any disruptions to daily life, Nielsen added. New guidelines will be distributed to the population, including a recommendation to store enough food at home for five days.

Trump has claimed he needs to “own” Greenland for security reasons and earlier on January 20 posted an AI-generated image of himself planting a U.S. flag on the island. Greenland, which has a population of around 57,000, is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has its own government overseeing most aspects of life except defence and foreign policy. Denmark has recently deployed additional troops to Greenland to strengthen Arctic defence.

Greenland is under “a lot of pressure” and “we need to be ready for all scenarios,” Mute B. Egede, the island’s minister of finance and former leader, said at the same news conference.

Meanwhile, Canada’s military has modelled how it would respond to an American invasion after Trump publicly suggested Greenland could become a 51st U.S. state, according to the Globe and Mail. Unnamed officials stressed they consider a U.S. invasion highly unlikely.

To bolster security, Denmark and seven other NATO countries last week deployed a small number of officers to Greenland as part of Operation Arctic Endurance. Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command plans to expand the military exercises, potentially running year-round, a Greenlandic newspaper reported.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending a small contingent of troops to Greenland to join forces from Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and other NATO nations for the exercises.

The situation has been further complicated by Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs from 1 February on the eight NATO allies sending military personnel, escalating tensions between Washington and Europe. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that Europe would have to respond if the tariffs are implemented.

“If a trade war is launched against us, which I cannot recommend, then we must of course respond. We would be forced to do so,” she said during a question-and-answer session in the Danish parliament. “I hope we do not get to that point. I hope that we succeed in convincing the Americans that this is not the path we should take.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev