No, Greenland is not for sale

Nothing surprises us any longer. Of course President Trump wants to buy Greenland, despite the fact that Greenland is an autonomous territory of nearly 60,000 people and is not for sale.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump is reported to have seriously discussed the idea with advisors, due to the world’s largest island’s abundance of natural resources, and its strategic military position.

Greenland’s government, however, has responded, “We’re open for business, not for sale,” and Denmark, whose realm Greenland is under, dismissed the idea as an out-of-season April Fool’s joke.

 

#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We’re open for business, not for sale❄️🗻🐳🦐🇬🇱 learn more about Greenland on: https://t.co/WulOi3beIC

— Greenland MFA 🇬🇱 (@GreenlandMFA) August 16, 2019

While historically countries have acquired new territory through financial deals (or just taken over them without asking for permission via the use of military force), that practice is now antiquated. The world is not a Risk board game.

As reported by The Guardian, Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, an MP from the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, said that Greenland is not “a commodity that could be sold,” and it was “tremendously uncomfortable to hear it discussed in such terms.”