Trump criticizes Spain again and talks about annexing Greenland

The Republican president made the comments during the NATO summit, which is being held in Ankara, Turkey.

“Spain is a lost cause. We don’t want to do business with Spain anymore,” Trump said, according to information from American broadcaster CNN and the EFE agency. “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

Spain, governed by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, this year ordered the closure of its airspace to US flights participating in the war in Iran and also did not allow the use of its Rota and Morón air bases by American planes. In response, Trump threatened to cut off trade with the Spanish.

Last year, when, after Trump’s demands, NATO countries agreed to invest at least 5% of GDP in defense by 2035, the only country in the military alliance that refused to commit to the new target was Spain, which led Trump to suggest that the Iberian country be expelled from NATO.

This Wednesday, the Spanish government assured that it received Trump’s new comments with “calmness and normality”. Sources from the Spanish Executive told EFE that Spain maintains an excellent social, cultural and economic relationship with the United States and has no intention of this changing.

Regarding Greenland, the American president said today that the island “is very important” for the United States, but “it is not for Denmark”.

“Denmark was defeated in less than a day by the Nazis, by Hitler. And when that happened, they immediately transferred it (Greenland) to us. We had it, and we were protecting it. Then we gave it back, I don’t know why, and I wouldn’t have done that,” he added.

Alleging concerns about the presence of China and Russia in the Arctic, Trump at the beginning of the year threatened to overtax European countries that oppose his idea of ​​annexing the territory, but he backtracked by announcing that he had agreed with NATO the “structure” of an agreement regarding Greenland, but without detailing what this commitment would be.

This Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that Greenland is “not for sale” and referred to NATO Article 5 — which establishes that an attack on a country that is part of the Western military alliance is also an attack on all others.

“If something happens to one of us, everyone should support each other,” said the prime minister. “We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory.”