Between America, Russia and Europe: Why Greenland has become so important

President-elect Donald Trump's statement on Greenland has been met with surprise by Danes who say his insistence on control over the island shows a lack of respect for the alliance between Denmark and the United States.

However, the largest island in the world is a place of geopolitical importance, which not only the United States but also others have wanted to control for over 150 years.

The island's value increases as the Arctic increasingly opens up to shipping and trade.

There are extremely large amounts of oil and gas there, as well as some rare minerals that are currently supplied mainly by China.

What makes Greenland important is its geographical position as it lies in the Arctic between the United States, Russia, and Europe.

As Ohio University security and environmental professor Geoff Dabelko explains, the world's largest island now occupies a "central place in geopolitical and geoeconomic competition in many ways," partly due to climate change.

The island, which has 80 percent of its territory covered by ice, is a region where the weather is warming four times faster than in other parts of the world, according to New York University environmental scientist David Holland.

Rising temperatures and melting ice are creating the opportunity to exploit Greenland's extremely rich soil.

There are valuable and rare minerals needed for the telecommunications industry.

Many of these minerals are mainly sourced from China.

There is uranium there, but also a large amount of oil and natural gas that was once inaccessible, but which has now increased the chances of obtaining.

Residents of the Danish capital Copenhagen reacted with surprise on Wednesday after US President-elect Donald Trump said he wanted to take control of the Arctic island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

"It's a strange thing to threaten allied countries and I honestly don't understand what he's doing," said Danish pensioner Brigitte Jakobsen.

"I find it extremely ridiculous. If you want something from Greenland, that doesn't respect the fact that we are allied countries," says Jeppe Finne Sorenson, a Copenhagen resident.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, did not rule out using military force or economic action to take control of Greenland.

"We need Greenland for national security reasons. I've been told this for a long time, long before I ran for president. People really don't know if Denmark has any legal rights to the island. But if they do, they should give it up because it's about our national security and for the good of the free world. There are Chinese ships, Russian ships, and we're not going to let that continue," President-elect Trump said, among other things.

His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., paid a private visit to the resource-rich island on Tuesday that has some of the oldest rocks on Earth.

"I'm not worried. He says things like that and we have to stay strong and not get too affected by what he says, just try to ignore it," says fellow Copenhagen resident Brian Kristensen.

In 2019, President Trump canceled a planned visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected his idea of ??Washington buying Greenland.

"It's never entirely clear what Trump means. He might be serious now. The last time he said something like that, eight years ago, we all thought it was funny. He seems serious now, maybe he's just trying to pressure us into something by using Greenland," says Copenhagen resident Jeppe Sorenson.

Greenland, with a population of 57,000, has been part of Denmark for 600 years.

The island is now self-governing as a semi-sovereign territory under the Danish kingdom.

Greenland's relations with Denmark have recently been strained due to allegations of mistreatment of the island's inhabitants under colonial rule.

The United States and other countries have expressed a desire to control Greenland for over 150 years.

The island's value increases as the Arctic increasingly opens up to shipping and trade.