I will not yield to Trump's pressure on Greenland, says PM
BBC -

Brian WheelerPolitical reporter

House of Commons

Sir Keir Starmer has said he "will not yield" to pressure from Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, after the US president attacked the UK's Chagos Islands deal.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir said the US president had criticised the Chagos deal after previously saying he supported it "for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland".

On Tuesday, Trump called the UK's deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base an "act of great stupidity".

He has threatened to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of Greenland.

Sir Keir told MPs "the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone" - and said he would be hosting the Danish premier Mette Frederiksen in Downing Street on Thursday.

"President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House," he said.

"He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland."

The PM added: "He wants me to yield on my position, and I'm not going to do so."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she supported the PM's position on Greenland - but agreed with Trump on the "stupidity" of the Chagos Islands deal.

"We didn't need President Trump to tell us that, we've been saying this for 12 months," she told Sir Keir.

She urged the PM to "scrap this terrible deal and put the money into our armed forces".

The UK signed the £3.4bn ($4.6bn) agreement in May, under which it would retain control of a UK-US military base on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia.

Ministers say the deal is necessary to provide a firm legal basis for the operation of the strategically important Diego Garcia facility.

But legislation to finalise it is currently caught in a wrangle between the Lords and the Commons.

On Tuesday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "Shockingly, our 'brilliant' Nato ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US military base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

"There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness."

He highlighted the decision as a reason for his continued pursuit of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.

"The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired."



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