Denmark is ready to defend every inch of NATO, including the kingdom of Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says, a day after US President Donald Trump reiterated that Greenland should be controlled by the US
Trump's assertions that the US must acquire or control Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, have long strained relations between Washington and Copenhagen - both founding NATO members - and more broadly US ties with Europe.
The issue is now under negotiation.
"We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory ... Of course we will defend the Kingdom of Denmark," Frederiksen said in Ankara on Wednesday, reiterating that Greenland was not for sale.
"One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago, is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other."
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen separately told reporters in Ankara that Denmark was still pursuing diplomatic negotiations with Greenland and the US.
The outcome of the talks has yet to be presented.
"We have an agreement with the US administration that, within the framework of the kingdom's red lines, we will try to see if we can find a solution that also addresses the US's legitimate security interests," Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said he "firmly" believed it was possible to reach a deal that would satisfy Greenland, Denmark and the US, by expanding a 1951 US-Danish defence agreement that gives Washington broad military access to the Arctic island.
Greenland's prime minister said in May that increasing the US military presence in the Arctic territory was part of the ongoing talks.