"The president's announcement comes as a surprise," Løkke Rasmussen wrote in a statement, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump threatened eight countries that have sent military personnel to Greenland, including Sweden and Norway, with punitive tariffs of 10 percent starting February 1.
Tariffs will be raised 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.”
But Løkke Rasmussen disagrees.
"The purpose of the increased military presence in Greenland, to which the president refers, is precisely to increase security in the Arctic," he writes.
He adds that Denmark is in close contact with the European Commission and its partners on the issue.
"We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed," says Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in a written comment to TT, emphasizing that "only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland."
“Broad consensus”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide emphasizes that NATO agrees to strengthen security in Greenland, and that tariffs have no place in that matter, NTB reports.
He is supported by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who says that Trump's actions with tariffs are "completely wrong."
"We will of course raise this directly with the US administration," Starmer said in a statement, according to the BBC.
France is also determined to respect the sovereignty and independence of nations.
"No threats or harassment can affect us, neither in Ukraine, Greenland nor anywhere else in the world," French President Emmanuel Macron writes in a post on X , calling tariff threats "unacceptable."
“Dialogue is crucial”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says in a statement 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 now coordinate a joint response, says EU Council President António Costa.
