Trump Eyeing Possibility To Purchase Greenland - Reports

US President Donald Trump is studying the idea of purchasing Greenland, the world's biggest island that belongs to Denmark, local media reported, citing knowledgeable sources in the White House

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2019) US President Donald Trump is studying the idea of purchasing Greenland, the world's biggest island that belongs to Denmark, local media reported, citing knowledgeable sources in the White House.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump has repeatedly asked his advisers whether the United States could acquire the island, expressing interest in this purchase "with varying degrees of seriousness" and listening keenly to his advisers discussing the autonomous Danish territory's "abundant resources and geopolitical importance." The US leader has reportedly asked his counsel in the White House to study the idea of the purchase that could be aimed at boosting US military presence in the Arctic.

While some advisers have supported Trump's idea as economically attractive, others have voiced the belief that this is just a "fleeting fascination" of the president that is unlikely to materialize. A source told the Wall Street Journal that Trump could be just joking to indicate that he is powerful enough to make such a purchase.

Even if Trump seriously primed for purchasing the ice-covered island, it is unclear how this can be done, the newspaper stressed.

The White House and the State Department have not provided any comment to the Wall Street Journal.

This is not the first attempt by Washington to acquire Greenland, the Wall Street Journal recalled. Former president of the United States, Harry Truman, offered to Denmark in 1946 $100 million for Greenland, but got a refusal. Moreover, the State Department eyed the possibility to purchase Greenland as early as in 1867.

Greenland, located between the Arctic and the Atlantic oceans, is Denmark's autonomous country. As of 2013, the population of the island, which can boast vast natural resources, amounted to slightly over 56,000 people. It is a self-ruling territory, with its own government making decisions on most of the domestic matters and the Danish central government handling foreign and security policy.