Donald Trump has said he wants the US to acquire Greenland. The US president-elect says this step is "absolutely necessary in the interests of national security and freedom in the world." When he announced his interest in buying Greenland from Denmark during his first term of office, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thought it was simply "absurd." The matter seemed settled.

Now, even before he is sworn into office, Trump suddenly doesn't rule out using economic or military pressure to bring Greenland under US control. The territory is geographically part of North America, but politically part of Europe. Various European heads of government have expressed their horror at the idea that the strongest member of NATO could annex the territory of an alliance partner by force — in the way that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken over swathes of Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz drew this parallel without mentioning Trump by name: "The principle of inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it lies to the east or west of us."

Moscow promptly tried to use Trump's threat to justify its own actions in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested consulting the population of Greenland about what they wanted, pointing to the referendums — widely seen as shams — held in regions in eastern Ukraine that Moscow has annexed.

The Danish premier's response this time

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