Danish PM says her country is 'ready to defend' Greenland as Trump joins NATO leaders in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Denmark on Wednesday vowed to defend its territory after President Donald Trump insisted again that the United States should control Greenland, upending a NATO summit in Turkey meant to be a show of strength and unity.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.

“We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenland people’s right for self-determination,” Frederiksen said ahead of the meeting of NATO leaders. “Greenland is of course not for sale.”

Trump had reopened old wounds on the eve of the meeting by insisting that the United States should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory.

Hi renewed interest in Greenland could put at risk the entire future of NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The organization is normally focused on outside threats such as that posed by Russia. It is not designed to deal with threats from within.

European countries, especially the ones with borders near Russia, worry that President Vladimir Putin might be planning some kind of an attack.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland,” and called for unity.

“Russia is their biggest threat when it comes to these NATO allies,” she said. “We need to focus on us and how we stick together.”

NATO chief backs latest US strikes on Iran

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said from Ankara on Wednesday that he believes the United States is fully committed to the military organization, and praised Trump for taking forceful action against Iran overnight.

“I think it was absolutely necessary because when you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating a ceasefire, we see what happened yesterday,” Rutte said of the series of U.S. strikes on Iran after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react,” Rutte said.

The U.S. strikes on Iran, as well as the revoking of a license allowing it to sell its oil on global markets, were retaliation, and underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting between the two countries.

The U.S. launched the attacks shortly after Trump left a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump has so far not spoken about the strikes.

NATO leaders sought to show Trump they were boosting defense

The meeting in Ankara was meant to focus on progress made toward meeting the alliance’s spending targets — something Rutte highlighted by noting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Denmark and Greece are already investing more.

“The commitment is there, no doubt,” Rutte said before chairing the summit, but noted the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadian will equalize their spending with the United States.”

In an attempt last month to mollify the U.S. leader, Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.

Yet Trump has demanded “loyalty” and branded NATO a “paper tiger” after some allies refused to grant open access to their bases for U.S. forces to attack Iran.

As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.

NATO diplomats and officials had hoped that Trump would take the win, but judging by some of his remarks since arriving in Turkey, they are in for yet another dressing down.

NATO braces for Trump’s grievances

Trump has long argued that the U.S. carries more than its fair share of the defense burden for NATO. At last year's summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on roads, bridges and ports so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.

Yet new figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic could be in hot water with the Trump administration as they struggle to meet the alliance’s old target of investing 2% of their GDP.

The Trump administration wants to see a more lean and lethal “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.

However, the Pentagon has launched a 6-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.

The drawdowns could depend on how fast the European allies increase defense spending, and whether they are prepared to allow greater use of their bases.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy pushes for NATO entry

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities.

Zelenskyy, who is expected to meet with Trump in Ankara on Wednesday, highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia, hit Moscow’s oil refineries and other energy targets. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.

Concern has been mounting among some northern, central and eastern European countries that Russia might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.