COPENHAGEN: Greenland does not need medical assistance from other countries, Denmark’s defense minister said Sunday, after US President Donald Trump claimed he was sending a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory that he covets.
“The Greenlandic population receives the health care it needs. They receive it either in Greenland, or, if they require specialized treatment, they receive it in Denmark. So it’s not as if there’s a need for a special health care initiative in Greenland,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
In Greenland as in Denmark access to health care is free. There are five regional hospitals across the vast Arctic island, with the Nuuk hospital serving patients from all over the territory.
The Greenlandic local government signed an agreement with Copenhagen in early February to improve the treatment of Greenlandic patients in Danish hospitals.
Trump on Saturday posted on his social media platform Truth Social that “we are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there.”
“It’s on the way!!!” he added.
Trump has said the US must control Greenland to ensure its security, though he has backed off earlier threats to seize it after striking a “framework” deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
Lund Poulsen told DR he was not aware of the hospital ship’s possible arrival.
“Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics,” he said.
Earlier Saturday, Denmark’s Arctic Command announced that it had evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.