Seizing Greenland risks 'monumental' fallout, ex-Iceland president warns, as Trump sharpens rhetoric

Any U.S. effort to prehend Greenland by unit would trigger "monumental consequences" for the Western confederation and the planetary order, Iceland's erstwhile President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said, arsenic President Donald Trump sharpens rhetoric connected controlling the Arctic territory.

Grimsson warned connected CNBC's "Access Middle East" that "the fallout would beryllium connected a standard that we person ne'er seen successful surviving memory." Grimsson, the longest-serving president of Iceland from 1996 to 2016, presently serves arsenic the Chairman of the Arctic Circle, the world's largest yearly gathering connected Arctic issues.

Trump has framed Greenland — an autonomous portion wrong the Kingdom of Denmark — arsenic cardinal to U.S. nationalist security, saying China and Russia were gathering up their beingness successful the region.

A gathering astatine the White House betwixt officials from Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. Wednesday ended with "fundamental disagreement" implicit the ownership of the island, a Danish authoritative said pursuing the meeting, adding that some sides would proceed to talk.

Trump doubled down connected his rhetoric connected Greenland up of the talks, saying connected societal media that thing little than Greenland becoming a portion of the United States was "unacceptable."

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen made it wide Tuesday that the state would choose Denmark implicit the United States if it had to marque a choice.

Grimsson pointed retired that concerns astir Russia oregon China's increasing power successful the Arctic were overblown. "At the contiguous determination is not a direct, clear, evident menace from Russia and China successful the Arctic," helium said.

China's astir salient relation is successful Russia's Arctic zone, wherever it has been progressive successful mining, vigor resources exploration and perchance successful subject exercises, said Grimsson. Beyond that — crossed the Canadian, U.S. and Nordic Arctic — "China is not a large player," portion Russia "is not there," helium added.

Trump's successive administrations person underinvested successful infrastructure specified arsenic icebreakers and ports successful America's Arctic, leaving the U.S. down its rivals, helium added. "If you privation an enhanced beingness successful the Arctic, commencement astatine home," Grimsson said, pointing to the lack of a large harbor successful the U.S. Arctic.

It is unclear what strategical oregon economical vantage Washington would summation from overtaking Greenland, the Arctic person said, noting that existing arrangements already springiness the U.S. extended latitude.

"There are nary barriers astatine the infinitesimal for enhanced American information oregon concern beingness wrong Greenland," helium said. "Since we person not heard immoderate much elaborate mentation for this desire, it's precise hard to recognize concretely what it is about."

Instead, Grimsson suggested Trump's worldview — shaped by his inheritance successful existent property — whitethorn beryllium influencing the fixation connected territory. "He is astir apt the archetypal large planetary person who had each his grooming and reasoning done done the existent property business," helium said. "Real property guys deliberation successful locations."

When asked whether Trump could instrumentality Greenland by force, Grimsson said a subject determination was conceivable fixed the imbalance of powerfulness and Greenland's tiny population, but warned the governmental costs would beryllium unprecedented.

"Yes, of course, it's possible," helium said, but "the question is ... what is it going to bash with it, isolated from .. putting the emblem of the United States an acquiring location."