LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that he stood with Denmark in its defence of Greenland, saying no one else should determine the future of the vast territory after U.S. President Donald Trump said he needed it for defence.
A U.S. military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and Trump’s intention to oversee governance of the oil-rich Latin American country, has rekindled concerns in Denmark that Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, might face a similar scenario.
“Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else,” Starmer told reporters.
When asked in a separate interview about Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen telling Trump to stop threatening Greenland, Starmer said: “I stand with her and she’s right about the future of Greenland.”
Starmer, who has sought to stay on good terms with Trump and adopted a less publicly critical approach than most other European leaders, was also asked about the raid in Venezuela.
He said it was now up to the U.S. to justify its actions, and that Britain would judge other nations against the benchmark of international law.
Starmer said on Saturday he was not sad that Nicolas Maduro was no longer president of Venezuela, but he wanted this to lead to a more democratic government.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Writing by Catarina Demony; Editing by William James and Kate Holton)
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