DISINFO: As the US's vassal state Denmark will have to give up Greenland for free or for a symbolic price
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: As the US's vassal state Denmark will have to give up Greenland for free or for a symbolic price

SUMMARY

Denmark got frightened after it turned out that Donald Trump was not joking about his intention to purchase Greenland. Trump is not the type of person who can easily be told ‘no’. A catastrophic perspective lies ahead of Denmark as it is one of the US’s allied countries. For them, Trump’s initiatives are offers which cannot be refused. Why would Trump pay for something that he can get for free or for a symbolic price? This would be a shame for such a successful businessman as Donald Trump. Therefore, Trump can get Greenland by arguing that as a NATO member, Denmark did not pay a penny for its military security. Hence, either Denmark pays billions of dollars for the security provided to it by the Americans over the last 70 years, or it gives up Greenland to the US. This development was logical given that the US does not really have allies as claimed but the vassal states which Washington can bend at any time. They will become victims of American global dominance. If Trump dared to ask Russia to sell its Sakhalin island, the Kremlin could launch a hyper-sonic missile at the White House.

RESPONSE

This is groundless speculation based on recurring lost sovereignty narrative frequently promoted by pro-Kremlin disinformation sources, this time built around the claim that Denmark is a US's vassal country, which will have to please Trump and give up Greenland. The 2014 Wales Summit Declaration formalised the aim to move towards 2% of GDP spending on defence for all NATO members. Although Denmark is among those NATO countries whose spending has not reached this benchmark, it is not true that Denmark did not pay for defence at all as alleged (see NATO countries defence expenditures for the last years here). Generally, the issue of US-Denmark negotiations over fair defence spending is well known, however it has nothing to do with Denmark's governance arrangements with Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump's statements on Greenland “an absurd discussion.” Both she and Greenland leader Kim Kielsen responded that Greenland is not for sale. “A discussion about a potential sale of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen and I fully stand behind that rejection,” Frederiksen stated. Despite the unusual spat over Greenland, the US and Denmark remain allies. Denmark remains sovereign in its domestic and foreign policy as decided by the Danes themselves, including on the matter of the country's relations with semi-autonomous Greenland. See earlier disinformation cases claiming that Washington is behind Denmark's attempts to obstruct the construction of Nord Stream 2, that Poland is the ''Trojan horse'' of the US, and that the EU has become the vassal of the US.

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Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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