ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Denmark on Wednesday vowed to defend its territory after President Donald Trump insisted again that the United States should control Greenland, upending a NATO summit in Turkey meant to be a show of strength and unity.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.“We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenland people’s right for self-determination,” Frederiksen said ahead of the meeting of NATO leaders. “Greenland is of course not for sale.”Trump had reopened old wounds on the eve of the meeting by insisting that the United States should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory.

Hi renewed interest in Greenland could put at risk the entire future of NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The organization is normally focused on outside threats such as that posed by Russia. It is not designed to deal with threats from within.

European countries, especially the ones with borders near Russia, worry that President Vladimir Putin might be planning some kind of an attack.Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said Greenland “belongs to the people of Greenland,” and called for unity.“Russia is their biggest threat when it comes to these NATO allies,” she said. “We need to focus on us and how we stick together.”

Source: AP News