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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be required to assume control of the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has convened an emergency session to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be achieved without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

Miller continued: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

He stated there was “no requirement to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

These statements followed Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by warning that an American aggression against a NATO ally would mean the end of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the official stance of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for self-rule, particularly after disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”