Ankara:

Denmark is ready to defend every inch of NATO, including the kingdom of Denmark, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in Ankara on Wednesday, 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 has since moved to a diplomatic track.

“We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory … Of course we will defend the kingdom of Denmark,” Frederiksen said, 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,” she said.

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