Greenland’s government pushed back against President Donald Trump’s claim on Wednesday that “massive oil, gas and mineral exploration is getting ready to begin” in the Arctic territory.
While Greenland’s deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm acknowledged that “there are activities by US companies,” he told CNN that “we are very far away from ‘massive’ exploration.”
“There are many smaller explorations underway but these could take years to become operational,” he added, echoing researchers who have pointed out the difficulties and enormous expense involved in extracting resources from Greenland.
The Foreign Ministry of Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous part, said that if the US wants to explore Greenland’s resources, it would have to do so within the Arctic Island’s legislation. Denmark also said the US-Denmark-Greenland agreement signed last month did not change this.
“The agreement does not grant investors from the US any preferential treatment compared with investors from other NATO countries, EU countries and NATO partners when it comes to access to natural resources in Greenland,” it added.
Many of the island’s deposits are located in remote areas above the Arctic Circle, where there is a mile-thick polar ice sheet and little infrastructure. Approximately 80% of the island is covered in ice.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland and its natural resources, angering European and NATO partners.
“There are experts that are saying that the amount of easily available oil is far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the world,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early hours of Wednesday.
Later in the day, he claimed that the media exaggerated his ambitions for Greenland and that he was never considering taking the Arctic island by force.
“You know, we took a lot of heat from the fake news back there,” Trump said at a rally in Arizona. “They said, ‘What a terrible way to talk about Greenland! This is terrible.’ Remember, they thought I was going to send my military out to attack Greenland. I wasn’t, but I complained about it very strongly to NATO, and really strongly,” he added.
On Wednesday evening, a White House official told CNN: “As the President says, energy security is national security.” They emphasized the “strategic importance of Greenland,” adding that Trump would “convert that recognition into a strategic victory for the United States.”
For years, Trump had suggested annexing the self-governing territory. Shortly before taking office for his second term in 2025, he didn’t rule out seizing Greenland by force, claiming it was vital for US security. Earlier this year, however, he ruled out military action in remarks to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Last month the US, Denmark, and Greenland reached an agreement intended to help resolve tensions following Trump’s threats to annex the strategically located island.
The agreement, which Trump claimed at the time gave the US “permanent control” over Greenland’s security, begins with an acknowledgment of Denmark’s sovereignty and Greenlanders’ right to self-determination.
The agreement, which makes small changes to a 1951 treaty that gives the US permission to station troops in Greenland as part of NATO’s defense, makes no explicit mention of oil or gas, but acknowledges “minerals cooperation” and “cooperation on economic development and business promotion,” with no further specifics, according a text of the agreement published on the White House’s website.
It also paves the way for additional US bases, and an assurance of US military access if Greenland becomes independent from Denmark.
In his post on Wednesday, Trump said, “Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived.”
CNN has reached out to the White House, to the Danish Prime Minister’s Office, and to Greenland’s Mineral Resources Authority for comment.
CNN’s Donald Judd contributed to this report.
Responses