"The president's announcement comes as a surprise," Løkke Rasmussen wrote in a statement, according to the Ritzau news agency.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened eight countries that have sent military personnel to Greenland, including Sweden and Norway, with punitive tariffs of 10 percent from February 1. The tariffs will be increased to 25 percent on June 1 if the US is not allowed to buy Greenland before then, Trump claims.
In addition to Sweden and Norway, the threat also applies to Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland.
“Increase security”
According to Trump, these countries are playing “a very dangerous game.”
Løkke Rasmussen disagrees.
"The purpose of the increasing military presence in Greenland, to which the president refers, is precisely to increase security in the Arctic," he writes, adding that Denmark is in close contact with the European Commission and its partners on the issue.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says that Trump's tariff threats "are unacceptable and have no place among allies," NTB reports.
"We will not let ourselves be blackmailed," says Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in a written comment to TT.
"Top day" for Russia
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Trump's tariff move is "completely wrong," according to the BBC.
"No threats or harassment can affect us, neither in Ukraine, Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world," writes French President Emmanuel Macron on X.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas points east.
"China and Russia must be having a really great day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions between allies," she writes on X.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb emphasizes that the dialogue with the United States continues.
"Issues between allies should be resolved through discussion and common rules of the game, not through pressure," Stubb writes on X, while also expressing support for Denmark and Greenland.
EU ambassadors meet
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen writes on X that "the EU stands in full solidarity with the people of Denmark and Greenland."
"Dialogue remains crucial, and we are determined to build on the process that began last week between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States," she writes further.
The EU will coordinate a common response, says European Council President António Costa.
The EU ambassadors of the 27 member states have been summoned to an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Sunday, Reuters reports.
