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A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has increased tensions on Denmark by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be necessary to assume control of the Arctic territory because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments come amid increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to purchase Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting to discuss the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the official stance of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a strategic installation there, important for its national missile defense network.

In recent years, there has been growing support for self-rule, particularly after disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

However, facing the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”