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Blinken says Trump’s push for U.S. to take control of Greenland is ‘not going to happen’

Antony J. Blinken and his French counterpart speak in Paris.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, left, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot hold a joint news conference Wednesday at the Quai d’Orsay in Paris.
(Ludovic Marin / Associated Press)
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Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is advising the world “not to waste a lot of time” on what President-elect Donald Trump has been saying about Greenland.

Trump made clear again this week that he’d like the semiautonomous territory of Denmark to come under U.S. control and said he would not rule out the use of military force to make that happen.

“We need Greenland for national security purposes,” Trump said.

But Blinken said Wednesday that the incoming president’s ambitions are unlikely to amount to anything more than talk.

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“The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one,” the senior U.S. diplomat said during a stop in Paris for meetings.

“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,” he said.

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