Trump: "That's what hurt my relationship with NATO"

President Trump renewed his call for Greenland to be "controlled" by the United States soon after arriving in Turkey on Tuesday for the NATO summit, reigniting an issue that has driven a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies.

"That's what hurt my relationship with NATO because Greenland doesn't help Denmark," he told reporters in Ankara alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Denmark doesn't spend money or really help Greenland, but it's an important part for the United States, and it's surrounded by China ships and Russian ships."

The president has repeatedly said the U.S. should take over Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, arguing it is necessary for global security and to counter Chinese and Russian threats in the Arctic.

"They wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia, and we don't have to spend any money. We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe. Because as you've probably noticed, Europe's a very different place than it was 20 years ago," he said.

"And they better be careful — with immigration and energy. If they're not careful with those two things, you're not going to have a Europe anymore."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen quickly responded, saying there are no plans to discuss Greenland while in Ankara.

"It is a well-known position of the United States that it wants to own and take over Greenland. I hope that it is equally well known everywhere that this is not going to happen," she said, according to Reuters.

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