(MENAFN- Live Mint) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed President-elect Donald Trump's 'not-so good' idea of taking over Canada and Greenland, saying,“It's not going to happen, so let's not waste time discussing it.”
Blinken's comments came a day after US President-elect Donald trump threatened to use "economic force" and not military force to take over Canada. Trump has been talking about making Canada the "51st State" of the United States and repeatedly expressed his interest in gaining control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
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Blinken told reporters at a press conference in Paris,“I think one of the basic propositions we've brought to our work over the last four years is that we're stronger, we're more effective, we get better results when we're working closely with our allies, not saying or doing things that may alienate them.”
“Having said that, it's – the idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one, but maybe more important, it's obviously one that's not going to happen, so we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time talking about it,” Blinken said.
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When asked: "What do you make of these expansionist statements made by Donald Trump regarding Canada and Greenland ?", Secretary Blinken said,“I can only repeat what I said a moment ago. Quite frankly, why are we dwelling on this question? It's not going to happen, so let's not waste time discussing it.”
Can US become 51st US State?
Several experts said it may be possible, but not painless. Adam Chapnick, professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College in Ontario, told CTV news,“If the Americans wanted to conquer us militarily, I guess so. Otherwise, not really and certainly not in the amount of time the president-elect thinks it would take for this to happen.”
Long constitutional processes on both sides are likely to be one of the roadblocks in the acquisition process. The report says that if Trump's plan to use 'economic force' to coerce Canada into joining the US as the '51st State' came to pass, Canada would need to essentially disband. That, experts were quoted as saying, would require invoking a constitutional amendment that would require the agreement of the House of Commons, the Senate, and every province.
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"And even with all that, then you have Indigenous Nations. Even if they are implicated in disbanding this union, there is no guarantee they would want to join the United States,” Chapnick said. He further believed that most Republicans wouldn't want Canada to become the 51st state.
Besides, Canada will need to look at international laws, but that its options could be limited, another expert said.
Trump to gain control of Canada, Greenland?
Trump on Tuesday reiterated his interest in taking control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, and has refused to rule out force to take control of the vast Arctic island. He has said the U.S. needs Greenland for national security reasons.
Denmark's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Greenland might become independent if its residents wanted this, but is unlikely to become a US state.
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Trump, who takes office on January 20, has signalled he will pursue a foreign policy unbound by diplomatic niceties, also declining to rule out military or economic action as part of his avowed desire to have the US take back control of the Panama Canal and floating the idea of turning Canada into a US state.
In 2019, Trump postponed a scheduled visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed his idea of the US purchasing Greenland, which was a Danish colony until 1953 and is now a semi-sovereign territory under the Danish realm.
Greenland, part of NATO through the membership of Denmark, has strategic significance for the U.S. military and for its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the Arctic island.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has stated that the island is not for sale and in his New Year speech stepped up a call for independence.
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White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said leaders in Canada, Greenland and Panama had made clear what they thought of Trump's ideas and the Biden administration was concentrated on other matters.
"I think it's pretty apparent what their views of some of these policy pronouncements are, but it would not be appropriate for us to weigh in and cast judgment," he told reporters on Wednesday.“We remain focused on issues that we believe are core to our national security.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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