WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future, President Donald Trump said on Friday.
"We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor," Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting with oil company executives.
Trump said the U.S. must acquire Greenland, even though it already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement, because such deals are not enough to guarantee Greenland's defense. The island of 57,000 people is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
"You defend ownership. You don't defend leases. And we'll have to defend Greenland. If we don't do it, China or Russia will," Trump said.
Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under U.S. control, including potential use of the U.S. military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the U.S.
Leaders in Copenhagen and throughout Europe have reacted with disdain in recent days to comments by Trump and other White House officials asserting their right to Greenland. The U.S. and Denmark are NATO allies bound by a mutual defense agreement.
On Tuesday, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark issued a joint statement, saying only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson; Writing by Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Christian Martinez)
