Blinken confirms US no longer seeking to purchase Greenland

The U.S. is definitively not interested in attempting to purchase Greenland, abandoning an effort floated by former President Trump as “a large real estate deal.”

“I can confirm that’s correct,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Thursday when asked if he could “definitively say that the United States does not seek to buy Greenland.”

Blinken’s comments came while visiting Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, and meeting with both Danish and Greenlandic ministers.

Trump had repeatedly asked aides to inquire about purchasing the island, The Wall Street Journal first reported in 2019.

The White House later called it a strategic interest, given Greenland’s proximity to opening Arctic shipping channels and what then-White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow called “a lot of valuable minerals.”

“It’s just something we’ve talked about,” Trump told reporters just a few days after the story broke. “Denmark essentially owns it. We’re very good allies with Denmark. We’ve protected Denmark like we protect large portions of the world, so the concept came up.”

“Essentially, it’s a large real estate deal. A lot of things can be done. It’s hurting Denmark very badly, because they’re losing almost $700 million a year carrying it. So they carry it at a great loss,” he said.

The news unnerved officials.

“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,” Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted at the time.

“I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously,” Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, said at the time.