Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Thursday confirmed that the United States was no longer interested in buying Greenland, scuttling for good a quixotic 2019 proposal by the Trump administration to annex the self-governing Danish territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can confirm that\u2019s correct,\u201d Mr. Blinken said during an appearance in Greenland with Danish officials and the premier of Greenland, Mute Egede, in response to a reporter who asked him to \u201cdefinitively say that the United States does not seek to buy Greenland.\u201d Earlier in the day, the secretary of state toured the territory and met privately with the premier to discuss \u201cbilateral trade and investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Blinken\u2019s brief remarks closed the book on a bizarre episode in U.S. foreign policy. The Wall Street Journal had first reported in August 2019 that President Donald J. Trump had repeatedly asked aides to pursue a purchase of Greenland, in part to exploit the territory\u2019s abundant natural resources. Mr. Trump\u2019s advisers were highly skeptical of the idea, but agreed to investigate the matter.<\/p>\n
News of Mr. Trump\u2019s interest in annexing Greenland quickly became the butt of jokes online, while receiving a cold reception both from residents of the semiautonomous territory and among Danish leadership, who took umbrage at the then-president\u2019s suggestion that the territory could be bought as, essentially, \u201ca large real estate deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreenland is not for sale,\u201d Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, told a Danish newspaper at the time. \u201cGreenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump, angered at the Danish response to his idea, abruptly canceled a diplomatic visit to Denmark and described Ms. Frederiksen as \u201cnasty,\u201d sparking an international incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll they had to do is say, \u2018No, we\u2019d rather not do that\u2019 or \u2018We\u2019d rather not talk about it,\u2019\u201d Mr. Trump said to reporters on the day he canceled the trip. \u201cDon\u2019t say, \u2018What an absurd idea that is.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Pele Broberg, Greenland\u2019s foreign minister, alluded to the diplomatic rupture during his appearance with Mr. Blinken on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will underscore this is not considered a real estate deal,\u201d Mr. Broberg said of talks with U.S. officials, quoting Mr. Trump. \u201cSecretary Blinken has made it very clear that he is here for the people living in the Arctic, for the people living in Greenland.\u201d<\/p>\n