Sir Keir Starmer has set out his place on Greenland in a name with US President Donald Trump, Downing Avenue says.
Mr Trump has been vocal about his want to annex the territory, regardless of it being a part of Denmark – a NATO ally.
A spokesman for the prime minister stated the decision additionally included a dialogue in regards to the interception of the Bella 1 tanker, generally referred to as the Marinera, which concerned US and UK navy forces.
Sir Keir Starmer. Pic: PA
The No 10 spokesperson stated: “The prime minister spoke with President Trump this night.
“They mentioned the joint operation to intercept the Bella 1 as a part of shared efforts to crack down on sanctions busting, current progress on Ukraine and the US operation in Venezuela.
“The prime minister additionally set out his place on Greenland.”
That place was revealed in a joint assertion on Tuesday, when European allies, together with the UK, reasserted that “Greenland belongs to its individuals. It’s for Denmark and Greenland, and them solely, to determine on issues regarding Denmark and Greenland”.
A view of the outdated metropolis of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Pic: Reuters
Fears that the US will act in opposition to Greenland have mounted following the arrest of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in an audacious American raid on Caracas.
Within the aftermath, Mr Trump left the door open to additional interventions within the western hemisphere by citing the Monroe Doctrine.
The coverage, named after former president James Monroe, asserts the appropriate of the US to intervene in overseas affairs throughout the Americas in its personal curiosity. Mr Trump calls it the Donroe Doctrine, adapting it along with his personal identify.
In opposition to this backdrop, the US president has repeatedly raised the spectre of motion over Greenland.
A navy drill in Greenland. Pic: Reuters
On Monday, he spoke to Sky’s US partner network NBC News about Greenland, saying that “we’d like it for nationwide safety, proper now”.
Regardless of opposition from Mr Trump’s NATO allies, a subsequent statement from the White House pushed the envelope additional by insisting that “using the US navy is at all times an possibility”.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that any such motion in opposition to Greenland would spell the end of NATO.
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Earlier, the UK’s defence secretary used an announcement to the Commons to clarify that no UK personnel took half within the boarding of the Bella 1, however that UK forces supported the operation “on the request of the US”.
John Healey stated the oil tanker intercepted by the US was “falsely flagged” and that it’s a “sanctioned, stateless vessel”.
It was intercepted between Iceland and Scotland because it headed in direction of Russia on Wednesday.
