Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has a wake-up call for President Donald Trump over his ongoing obsession with acquiring Greenland as part of the United States: they're an "ally, not an asset."
In a joint statement with Danish MP Aaja Chemnitz, Murkowski slammed the ongoing attempts by Trump to strongarm Denmark into surrendering the island territory, which has in recent days triggered alarm from Danish officials. Murkowski, widely considered one of the more moderate members of the GOP caucus in the Senate, co-chairs the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region.
“In recent weeks, as President Trump has suggested the U.S. should purchase Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark, attention has rapidly turned to what the future may hold," she said.
Murkowski called the massive island's appeal "easy to understand" due to its strategic location for defense, shipping, and more.
"It is also a storehouse for all sorts of minerals, the building blocks of society that will determine who leads — and controls — the industries of the future," she said. “Of course, a businessman turned president would be interested. But Greenland is not for sale. The question has been asked and firmly answered by the government of Greenland, Naalakkersuisut."
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Murkowski said U.S. national security can be achieved without taking Greenland’s autonomy.
"Dialogue and cooperation can strengthen our ties; diplomacy can pave the way for a relationship and alliance that fulfills our mutual interests," her statement continued. “We can also affirm that Greenland welcomes increased cooperation with the U.S. on defense, mineral development, trade, and our common values of freedom and democracy. The U.S. should embrace that. And it should be paired with a larger acceptance of the Arctic as a region of shared responsibility whose opportunities cannot be seized, and whose challenges cannot be overcome, by any one nation on its own."
“The future does not require us to redraw the borders on that map, but to work harder than ever across them," Murkowski added. "The respectful, consensus partnership is the only way to truly foster the ties that will bind Greenland and the United States together for the long haul. We call the Arctic our home. We work hard to ensure prosperity, peaceful and respectful collaboration and protection of our people. We believe in a stronger partnership for a brighter future across the Arctic.”
Trump's push to purchase Greenland, which also featured a pseudo-diplomatic photo-op tour of Nuuk by his son in the weeks before he took office, comes as he also makes proposals about acquiring Canada and regaining control of the Panama Canal Zone, both of which have been flatly rejected by those respective governments.