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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World

MYSTERIOUS: Save greenland for us all with a global protectorate - You Need To See This

Greenland’s flag flies in the country’s capital, Nuuk, on 20 January 2026.
Greenland’s flag flies in the country’s capital, Nuuk, on 20 January 2026. European leaders are scheduled to meet this week to formulate their response to Donald Trump's threat of punitive tariffs against countries that obstruct his desire to acquire Greenland. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Your leader marks the historic moment when European nations finally stepped up to Trump’s bullying over Greenland (The Guardian view on Trump and Greenland: get real! Bullying is not strength, 18 January). However, Keir Starmer’s response remains weak. By saying Greenland is only a matter for Denmark and Greenland, he tries to rewind the clock to a status quo that is plainly no longer adequate.

Greater vision has a clear historical precedent: for nearly 70 years, Antarctica has been kept out of military competition and resource grabs by the Antarctic treaty. With this 1959 treaty, countries with competing interests accepted that some places are too important to be owned, and must instead be protected for science, peace and the common good.

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