US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has dismissed President-elect Donald Trump's interest in taking over Greenland, saying it was "obviously not a good" idea and that it would not happen.
Trump on Tuesday reiterated his interest in taking control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, and has refused to rule out force to take control of the vast Arctic island. He has said the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons.
"I think one of the basic propositions we've brought to our work over the last four years is that we're stronger, we're more effective, we get better results when we're working closely with our allies, not saying or doing things that may alienate them," Blinken told reporters at a news conference in Paris with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday.
"The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one, but maybe more important, it's obviously one that's not going to happen, so we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time talking about it."
Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Greenland might become independent if its residents wanted this, but is unlikely to become a US state.
Trump, who takes office on January 20, has signalled he will pursue a foreign policy unbound by diplomatic niceties, also declining to rule out military or economic action as part of his avowed desire to have the US take back control of the Panama Canal and floating the idea of turning Canada into a US state.
In 2019, Trump postponed a scheduled visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed his idea of the US purchasing Greenland, which was a Danish colony until 1953 and is now a semi-sovereign territory under the Danish realm.
Greenland, part of NATO through the membership of Denmark, has strategic significance for the US military and for its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has stated that the island is not for sale and in his New Year speech stepped up a call for independence.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said leaders in Canada, Greenland and Panama had made clear what they thought of Trump's ideas and the Biden administration was concentrated on other matters.
"I think it's pretty apparent what their views of some of these policy pronouncements are, but it would not be appropriate for us to weigh in and cast judgment," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We remain focused on issues that we believe are core to our national security."
CANADA SAYS: 'WE WILL NEVER BACK DOWN'
Canada's minister of foreign affairs, Melanie Joly, said on X, "President-elect Trump's comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats."
Panama's top diplomat also pushed back on the incoming US leader's threat to retake the key global waterway, which the US had built and owned before handing over control to the Central American nation in 1999.
"The only hands that control the canal are Panamanian and that's how it will continue to be," Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha told reporters on Tuesday.
Ambassador Daniel Fried, a retired US diplomat now with the Atlantic Council think tank, said Trump's comments painted a picture of national power as territorial expansion and compared him to a "19th century imperialist."
Seizing Greenland, Fried said, "would destroy NATO, because it would make us no different than Vladimir Putin," Russia's president.
Trump's promise to rename the Gulf of Mexico echoed his previous vow to revert the name of Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, to Mount McKinley. Former President Barack Obama changed the name of the Alaskan mountain in deference to Native Americans.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who is expected to play a key role in looming US-Mexico trade issues, appeared to dismiss Trump's call to rename the shared body of water later on Tuesday.
"Today I'd tell you if we saw each other in 30 years, the Gulf of Mexico will still be called the Gulf of Mexico," he said, adding that the Mexican government would not get drawn into the debate.
Typically, the US Board of Geographic Names sets geographic names, though presidents have also renamed geographic features via executive action.
NATO SPENDING
Trump said NATO members should spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defence, a significant increase from the current 2% target.
"I think NATO should have 5%," he said. "They can all afford it, but they should be at 5%, not 2%."
Trump has frequently complained that most NATO members are not paying their fair share, and he floated demanding an increase in NATO defence contributions during the campaign.
NATO estimated that 23 of its 32 members would meet its goal of spending 2% of GDP in 2024.
None of the alliance members, including the US, currently spends 5% of GDP on defence, according to NATO figures. Poland is the highest spender in GDP terms at 4.12%, followed by Estonia at 3.43% and the United States at 3.38%.
Trump also repeated his threat that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if Palestinian Hamas militants do not release by the time he takes office hostages it abducted from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and still hold in the Gaza Strip.
"It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone," he said.
His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters he hopes to have good things to report on negotiations between Israel and Hamas by the time Trump is sworn into office.
FAMILIAR GRIEVANCES
The free-wheeling, hour-long press conference, Trump's second since his victory, echoed similar events during his presidential campaign.
He aired a series of familiar grievances about his criminal indictments, including attacking Justice Juan Merchan, the New York judge who is scheduled to sentence Trump on Friday for falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to a porn star.
A New York appeals court denied his latest bid to halt the sentencing shortly after his press conference ended.
Separately, as Trump was speaking, a US judge temporarily blocked Special Counsel Jack Smith from releasing a report on his investigations into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The judge, Aileen Cannon, had previously dismissed the case charging Trump with illegally retaining classified materials after leaving office.
Tuesday's event took place in the ornate living room at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach resort. Several of Trump's senior advisers watched the proceedings, while club guests could be seen outside dining on the terrace.
Trump was also asked whether it was appropriate for Elon Musk to publicly weigh in on foreign affairs. In recent weeks, the billionaire Trump ally has used his X platform to comment on European politics, including expressing support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany.
"I can say Elon is doing a good job, very smart guy," Trump said. "I don't know the people you're talking about."
