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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by disputing Copenhagen’s claim to the vast Arctic island.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the fate of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Denmark does not have a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

These remarks follow a period of increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the American leader's repeated interest to purchase Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be achieved without military intervention due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” he asked.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”

International Reactions

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “urgently”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an attack by the US a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “This has represented the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been growing support for self-rule, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a show of national unity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”