The Danish government has announced a significant increase in defense spending in Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump announced his desire to acquire the Arctic territory, BBC Russian Service reports .
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package would cost at least $1.5 billion, which he said would buy two inspection vessels, two long-range drones and two additional dog sled teams.
It also includes funding to increase the Arctic Command staff in the capital Nuuk and upgrade one of Greenland's three main civilian airports to handle modern F-35 fighter jets.
"We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years, now we are planning to strengthen our presence," said Troels Lund Poulsen.
The Minister of Defence did not name the exact amount of the package, but Danish media estimated it at approximately 12–15 billion kroner.
What else is known
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Borup Egede said "we are not for sale" after Trump offered to buy the island, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
"Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and we will never be for sale. We must not lose our long fight for freedom," Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede responded.
At the same time, the Prime Minister of Greenland noted that the island remains open to cooperation and trade with the entire world, primarily with neighboring countries.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, where the large American space base "Paitufik" is located. The island is of strategic importance to the United States, as it lies on the shortest route to Europe. Greenland also has large reserves of minerals and oil.
Earlier, US President-elect Donald Trump said that ownership of the island was necessary for America. Trump also floated the idea of demanding that the Panama Canal be returned to US ownership if American ships were not treated fairly.
In early December, Trump jokingly suggested that Canada become the 51st state, a suggestion that, according to Fox News, provoked nervous laughter among Canadian politicians.
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Cover: Illustrative photo from resizer.mail.ru