WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday once again claimed that the United States will acquire Denmark's Greenland "one way or the other."
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said that with regard to Greenland, he was not considering leasing or short-term arrangements, but "acquiring" the territory.
"We're talking about acquiring, not leasing, not having it short term, we're talking about acquiring," said Trump, adding it's insufficient for the country to merely maintain military bases on the island.
"I'd love to make a deal with them. It's easier, but one way or the other, we're going to have Greenland," Trump asserted.
Asked if the U.S. demand for Greenland will damage NATO and European allies, Trump said, "If it affects NATO and it affects NATO, but you know, they need us much more than we need them."
"I'm the one that saved NATO," Trump claimed, again questioning whether NATO allies would support the United States when it is needed.
"I just wonder whether or not, if we needed NATO, would they be there for us? I'm not sure they would," the president said.
Trump also repeated his baseless allegations that Russian and Chinese warships and submarines were "all over the place" around Greenland, using the false claims to argue that the United States needs to own Greenland for national security reasons.
"If we don't do it, Russia or China will," Trump claimed, offering no evidence.
"I have seen the intelligence. There are no ships, no submarines," the Financial Times quoted one of two senior Nordic diplomats with access to NATO intelligence briefings as saying on Sunday.
The two diplomats told the newspaper that there was no evidence of Russian or Chinese ships or submarines operating around Greenland in recent years, directly contradicting Trump's allegations.
Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that there was "very little" Russian or Chinese activity near Greenland, reported U.S. media outlet Politico.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at an annual security conference on Sunday that Stockholm was "highly critical" of what the Trump administration was doing to Denmark and Greenland.
"We are probably even more critical of the rhetoric that is being expressed against Greenland and Denmark," said Kristersson, noting that the rules-based international order is under greater strain than it has been in decades.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday that Denmark is "at a crossroads" amid Trump's threats to obtain Greenland, calling it "a fateful moment."
"We are at a crossroads, and this is a fateful moment," Frederiksen said at a rally. "What is at stake is bigger than what the eye can see, because if what we experience from the Americans is that they are actually turning their backs on the Western alliance, that they are turning their backs on our NATO cooperation by threatening an ally, which we have not experienced before, then everything will stop."
Foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, are due to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week.
The White House issued a statement Tuesday, saying that "utilizing the U.S. military" is always an option for Trump over his demand for Greenland. Rubio reportedly told U.S. lawmakers that Trump's recent threats didn't signal an imminent invasion and that the White House's goal is to buy the island from Denmark. ■