Greenland issues 'strong warning' as Trump-linked oil company lands on island without permission
Greenland's government has issued a 'strong warning' to the US after an American oil company linked to the president is set to drill without permission in the region.
The warning came just days before Trump posted a menacing AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform, in which he could be seen overlooking a village in Greenland.
Greenland Energy, a Texas company that was set up last year, have claimed that $1tn of crude may potentially lie beneath the Jameson Land region in eastern Greenland.
They announced plans to spend $60m drilling two wells to find out - but the plans have not been approved by the government.
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In a strong-willed statement to the Trump administration, they wrote: "The licence holder will receive a strong warning and a reprimand stating that all future logistical arrangements must be notified to and approved by the mineral resources authorities before they are carried out."
And Larry Swets, Greenland Energy’s chair and a big shareholder, is a man who enjoys access to Trump's inner circle.
However, responding to the backlash, he claimed that the oil project is 'not related to American annexation'.
Just last week, Greenland Energy wrote to its stakeholders in a letter: "Recent high-level meetings between project leadership and Greenlandic regulatory and oversight authorities have been constructive, and we continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling."
But despite not being granted access prior to arrival, the Greenland government concluded that it 'would not be proportionate' to require the equipment to be removed, adding that an application for permission was still being processed.
Tensions between Greenland and the US
Earlier this year, tensions between the two countries reached historic heights, as Trump threatened to annex Greenland - and didn't rule out using military force to do so.
Speaking with the BBC in January, Trump said: "Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership, you don't defend leases. And we'll have to defend Greenland."
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, he further noted: "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity. Ken will do a wonderful job in representing the interests of the United States."
But in a statement, the territory's foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt responded: "Greenland does not want to be owned by, governed by or part of the United States.
"We choose the Greenland we know today - as part of the Kingdom of Denmark."
Mia Williams