Trump threatens tariffs on countries that don't back Greenland takeover plan

US President Donald Trump said Friday he may impose trade tariffs on countries that don't support his plans to take over Greenland, part of the territory of NATO ally Denmark.

"I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security," Trump said at a health roundtable at the White House.

"I may do that," added Trump.

Trump compared the possible Greenland tariffs to those that he threatened on France and Germany last year over the price of pharmaceutical products.

Also Read: Trump undeterred in quest for Greenland

The threat is the latest pressure tactic by Republican Trump as he steps up his bid to acquire the autonomous Arctic island, a goal that he has threatened to achieve by military means if necessary.

Trump claims the United States needs mineral-rich Greenland and has accused Greenland of not doing enough to ensure its security against rivals Russia and China.

European nations have in recent days shown their support for Denmark and Greenland over Trump's escalating threats, including by sending troops to the strategic territory.

A bipartisan US Congress delegation also began a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to voice their backing for Denmark and Greenland.

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland visited the White House on Wednesday for talks to defuse the issue but said afterward that they remained in "fundamental disagreement" with Trump.

But the United States, Denmark and Greenland had agreed to set up a working group to continue talks every two to three weeks on the issue, the White House said on Thursday.

Greenland to be Danish territory, Russia

The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia considers Greenland to be Danish territory and added that the security situation surrounding the island was “extraordinary” from the perspective of international law.

Moscow said this week that it was unacceptable for the West to keep claiming that Russia and China threatened Greenland, and said the crisis over the territory showed the double standards of Western powers which claimed moral superiority.

Concerned by NATO deployments

Earlier, Russia said it was seriously concerned by the arrival of NATO forces in Greenland, a mineral-rich island in the Arctic that US President Donald Trump has threatened to seize.

France, Sweden, Germany and Norway announced Wednesday that they would deploy military personnel to the island’s capital Nuuk as part of a reconnaissance mission.

Read More: Europe boosts military presence in Greenland

The announcement came after a meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington failed to deter Trump’s ambition of taking the island.

Trump argues Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, is vital for US security and that if Washington does not take it “China or Russia will”.

“The situation unfolding in the high latitudes is of serious concern to us,” the Russian embassy in Belgium, where NATO is headquartered, said in a statement published late Wednesday.