What makes Greenland a strategic prize at a time of rising tensions? And why now? Boston 25 News [Video]

NUUK, Greenland — (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested buying Greenland in 2019, people thought it was just a joke. No one is laughing now.

Trump’s interest in Greenland, restated vigorously soon after he returned to the White House in January, comes as part of an aggressively “America First” foreign policy platform that includes demands for Ukraine to hand over mineral rights in exchange for continued military aid, threats to take control of the Panama Canal, and suggestions that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.

Why Greenland?

Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and Trump wants to make sure that the U.S. controls this mineral-rich country that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America.

Who does Greenland belong to?

Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a long-time U.S. ally …