Trump announces oil, gas and mineral exploration to begin in Greenland

US President Donald Trump has announced that large-scale exploration for oil, gas and minerals will soon begin in Greenland.

He shared the information on social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday. Citing unnamed experts, Trump claimed Greenland holds more easily extractable oil reserves than other parts of the world. However, he did not specify what role the United States would play in the exploration.

Greenland is a self-governing Arctic territory under Denmark, where the United States has been seeking to expand its security presence. Last month, Trump held security talks with leaders of Denmark and Greenland that opened the door to an expanded American military role there.

Trump called Greenland an extremely important territory for the defense strategy of the United States and Europe, claiming that any future attack on the US would come by way of Greenland. He said the defense systems to be placed there would also be capable of destroying drones, missiles, and other weapons developed in the future, giving the US early warning and long-range surveillance capability.

Trump also said he plans to build two large US military bases in Greenland.