Why Trump Wants Greenland

DJ Trump wants Greenland to prevent occupation of it by Russia or China. He says you have to own it to defend it. "You don't defend leases" he said; US President Donald Trump has said he is seeking "immediate negotiations" to acquire Greenland for national security reasons - and insisted he "won't use force". His repeated demands to take control of the territory have been rejected by Greenland's leaders, and by Nato member Denmark, of which the island is a semi-autonomous territory. This has led to a wider diplomatic row, with Trump initially threatening additional trade tariffs against a number of European allies for opposing his plans. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said he had dropped the proposed tariffs after forming "the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland" following talks with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. Follow live updates Lyse Doucet: Trump is shaking the world order more than any president since WW2 Where is Greenland and why is it important to Trump? Greenland - the world's largest island - is located in the Arctic. At about 2.2 million sq km (836,330 square miles), it is roughly six times the size of Germany. It is also the most sparsely populated global territory, with a population of about 56,000 people, mostly indigenous Inuit people. Its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks, and for monitoring vessels in the region. At the height of the Cold War, the US had plans to station nuclear missiles on the island but abandoned the project over engineering problems and objections by Denmark. The US has operated Pituffik Space Base - formerly known as Thule Air Base - since World War Two. The base currently monitors for missiles. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74x4m71pmjo