'Denmark will never be able to defend it!' Donald Trump's bid for Greenland backed by ex-Ambassador

The US President has doubled down on his plans to take control of the territory, and revealed in a White House statement he is exploring a "range of options", including use of the military.

Mr Trump said at the weekend the US “needed” Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of fellow Nato member Denmark, as a matter of "national security".

Defending the president's plans, Mrs Sands told the People's Channel: "It's amazing how fast events have developed since President Trump came into office less than a year ago. From saying we need to own Greenland right out of the box to beginning to discuss it over and over.

"And then his actions in Venezuela, his warning to Iran and then saying this, but especially his deep desire to make sure that the Western Hemisphere is secure is a very exciting thing.

"It's exciting to watch because things happen when President Trump moves his team and intends to make changes."

Asked for her verdict on what Mr Trump means by wanting to "acquire" Greenland, she admitted: "Well, I'm not sure what he means by that. I saw the word buy, purchase, so I'm not sure what he means by that.

"Because a Cofa (Compacts of Free Association), free association with Greenland wouldn't cost the United States any money upfront. I'm sure the Greenlanders would prefer to continue the kind of economic welfare that they receive from Denmark every year, which is around $600million a year. But there are benefits to having that relationship.

"I'm sure Denmark benefits economically far more than $600million a year with the resources that are pulled out of the water and the ground in Greenland.

"So there's a close relationship with Greenland and Denmark, but Denmark can't afford to develop Greenland, and it also will never be able to defend it."

Asked by host Bev Turner what she believes the people of Greenland will make of the bid by the US President, Mrs Sands said: "Well, I think it's really up to the people of Greenland. But they have said over and over again that they want to go independent, they intend to be independent from Denmark. They really don't generally like Denmark.

"Denmark was an oppressive colonial power 100 years ago, before World War Two, actually, they wouldn't let the Greenlanders own rifles. They wouldn't let them own kerosene lanterns. These were like fantasy things for the Greenlanders because the Danes kept them living almost like Stone Age people. They did not let them modernise.

"Once the military, our US military, occupied Greenland from World War Two until in the 90s when the Berlin Wall fell and we all took that peace dividend, we left those bases, those ports, those airports and turned them over to Denmark."

As Bev questioned whether Mr Trump could use his ownership of Greenland to "mine for minerals", Mrs Sands responded: "Well, a couple of things there. First of all, I'm not sure that he means buy into the mining, I think he may mean a cash transfer to Denmark to take control of Greenland.

"I'm just speculating, I am not speaking for the administration, but as far as those mines go, when I got to Denmark as ambassador, in Greenland, the majority of those mines had a minority interest owned by the Chinese. A majority of the mines were partially owned by the Chinese. There was almost no American investment up there.

"And so to see that and then see China try to pull Greenland into The Belt and Road Initiative, they tried to finance and build airports in Greenland, three of them. And we know Greenland wouldn't have been able to service the debt and they would have been poorly built, and then China would have taken some economic control.

"Well, Denmark didn't allow that to happen. We worked with Denmark and Denmark actually financed those airports. Then China declined to build them once they couldn't finance them, so you can see more debt trap diplomacy right off our North East coast."

Noting the President had tried to take this action in Venezuela in his first term, Mrs Sands concluded: "President Trump did try to in his first term. He actually recognised Guaido as the democratically elected leader. And when he tried to move, he was so hamstrung and under the oppression of the FBI and intelligence community war on him and his administration with the Russia collusion hoax, that they boxed him in.

"And it was very hard for him to make bold moves that he needed to make and was capable of making. But these four years in the wilderness during the sleepy Joe Biden years, they allowed President Trump and his team to get ready and to know what they were going to do to make the changes necessary to secure not just the American people, but our allies and friends."

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