Trump doubles down on push for control over Greenland as Denmark vows to defend it

President Donald Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his latest push for U.S. control over Greenland, saying Washington needs the Arctic island "for the protection of the world."

Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, Trump said the self-governing Danish territory was "very important" for the U.S., "but it is not important for Denmark."

"We took Greenland and then stupidly we gave it back. We shouldn't have given it back to them because we're the ones that need it. We need it for the protection of the world — not just the United States," Trump said.

His comments come shortly after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pledged to defend "every inch" of NATO, including its own territory. She also underscored the message that the island is not for sale.

"Our position is clear as it has been all through. Greenland is, of course, not for sale," Frederiksen said. "We hope that all, including all allies, will respect the Greenlandic people's right for self-determination and we are a sovereign state, and we need everybody to respect our territorial integrity and our sovereignty."

Asked by CNBC's Steve Sedgwick whether Denmark was prepared to defend Greenland militarily in the event of an attack, Frederiksen replied: "We are ready to defend every inch of NATO, including our own territory."

She added: "One of the reasons why we have built NATO many, many years ago is if anything happens to one of us, then everybody should stand up for each other."

Trump had renewed his threat to seek to acquire Greenland during the first day of a two-day NATO summit in Turkey's capital. The U.S. president even suggested that the U.S. could pull its troops out of Europe in response to the region's continued pushback on the issue.

In a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, Trump said Europe's refusal to go along with his expansionist desire is "what hurt my relationship with NATO."

Greenland "should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark," Trump said. "And when they wouldn't go along with it, and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia — we don't have to spend any money."

The U.S. president also suggested that the country could remove "all of our soldiers out of Europe," before adding: "Because as you probably noticed, Europe's a very different place than it was 20 years ago."

Trump's pursuit of Greenland became a major trans-Atlantic issue at the start of the year, sparked by the president's repeated claims that the U.S. needed to acquire the island. Greenlandic lawmakers have insisted the island is not for sale.

Trump, who had refused to rule out the use of military force to annex Greenland, abruptly announced in late January, however, that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had formed a "framework of a future deal" with respect to the territory.

A working group of representatives from the U.S., Denmark and Greenland have since been meeting to discuss next steps.

Rutte said Wednesday that Trump "absolutely has a point" on preventing China and Russia from gaining access to the Arctic, referring to the U.S. president's claim that Greenland is "surrounded" by Chinese and Russian ships.

"So, it is crucial that, as an alliance, and this is what we agreed in Davos, work together to make sure that doesn't happen, and also, when it comes to Denmark and Greenland itself, we have a good process in place," Rutte said.